Olaleye Idowu
Liverpool legend, Steve Nicol, has hit out at Chelsea manager, Enzo Maresca, for his comments on banished duo, Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi.
Nicol said that the Italian should put the players in the U23 team instead of keeping them out of the system entirely.
Nicol slammed the former Leicester City manager for comparing his 75-year-old dad, a fisherman’s hard work to that of the players, describing his comment as a ‘load of nonsense’.
Maresca, during his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea’s defeat to Manchester United on Saturday, said he had been in a situation where he was banished from the first team, and Nicol wondered why he should allow other players to suffer the same.
“I actually find Maresca’s comments [on Sterling’s treatment] garbage. How do you bring your dad into it?” He said on ESPN FC.
“Just because your dad’s a fisherman and gets up at 2 AM and works till 10, what’s that got to do with the price of bread?
“Shut up, what a load of nonsense. The fact that Maresca turns around and says, ‘I was in a similar situation’, that’s the very reason you don’t do that to those players. You know how bad it makes them feel.”
Sterling and Disasi were shipped out on loan to Aston Villa and Arsenal, respectively, last season, but could not secure permanent deals at the clubs due to their underwhelming performances.
The summer transfer window passed without them securing the needed moves away from Chelsea, and Maresca has maintained they will not play for him again, banishing them from training and eating with the rest of the squad.
