Chelsea Boss Maresca Defends Sterling, Disasi Treatment: 'Training Alone Isn't Hardship'

Enzo Maresca has defended his treatment of Chelsea cast-offs Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi, claiming that being made to train alone is "not hard."

ESPN reported on Thursday that the Professional Footballers' Association had contacted the club over the conditions the pair are working under this season after they were made surplus to requirements and isolated from the first team.

Neither was able to secure a move away from Stamford Bridge during the transfer window despite efforts being made to set up deals.

Maresca has not seen or spoken to either player this season and both have been kept entirely separate from the team, training and eating alone and at different times to the rest of the squad.

Sterling, who had an unsuccessful loan at Arsenal last season, still has two years to run on the £325,000-per-week ($438,000-per-week) deal he signed in 2022, whilst Disasi is under contract until 2029. He spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa.

"I've been in Raheem's situation and Axel's situation as a player," Maresca said. "I know that it's not the best feeling, because if you're a player it means you want to train and play.

"But for different reasons, the situation is what it is in this moment. I know that the club is giving them the opportunity to work in the right way, and this is the only thing I can say.

"It's something you like to talk about but it's not just Chelsea, it's any club in the world, I can promise you. Italy, Spain, England, France, USA, Brazil, any country in the world. For any reason the player and the club doesn't find a solution, if you are not involved in the squad you are not involved in the squad."

FIFA has regulations regarding players who are isolated from squads in circumstances that could constitute abusive conduct by a club, which may entitle an individual to terminate their contract early.

It is understood Chelsea attempted to facilitate moves for Sterling to Bayern Munich and Napoli during the summer but that the 30-year-old's preference was to remain in England for family reasons.

- Sources: PFA working with Chelsea on treatment of Sterling, Diasi
- João Pedro wants to build on Palmer partnership
- First-month grades for all 20 Premier League teams

"My father is 75 years old, and for 50 years he has been a fisherman working from two o'clock in the morning until 10 o'clock in the morning," Maresca said. "This is a hard life. Not the way a player works."

New signing Alejandro Garnacho is in line to make his full debut against his former side Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday.

"We are happy with the way he's adapting to our style, what we want from our wingers," Maresca added. "I think he's ready to start tomorrow.

Asked about any possibly hostile reception the winger might received from home fans, he said: "You have to learn to handle these kind of things."