Rows Led to Nunez Chile Exit - Reports
Thursday, 1st Oct 2026 17:21

Blues midfielder Marcelino Nunez returned to England after falling out with both his national side’s interim-head coach and a teammate, according to Chilean reports.

The 26-year-old left the squad earlier today with a statement from the Chilean Football Federation indicating it was for “personal reasons”.

However, according to ADN Radio, Nunez was annoyed with interim-head coach Nicolas Cordova that he wasn’t given any minutes in the 4-2 defeat to the US in St Louis in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The two were already believed to have a tense relationship and Nunez is also understood to have been upset with comments Cordova made to the media questioning the squad following the 1-0 defeat in Canada at the weekend, in which the Town man played the first 52 minutes.

In addition, according to Radio Cooperativa, Nunez had a heated argument with teammates during a squad discussion and was close to coming to blows with Lucas Cepeda, who plays in La Liga with Elche.

Nunez subsequently left the camp, reportedly informing not Cordova but Felipe Correa, who is the Federation’s national teams manager, that he was departing and exited without saying goodbye to either the head coach or the rest of the squad.

Chile have one more game to play before the end of the international break, against Mexico in LA on Tuesday.

Photo: Daiana Panza via Reuters Connect

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bugblatter added 17:30 - Oct 1 oof
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matty81 added 17:34 - Oct 1 Whether is was in the right or not he has totally burnt his bridges with this interim coach and probably the national team in the short to medium term.
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Blue_Heath added 17:40 - Oct 1 Let's hope the same doesn't happen here if he's not playing.
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Linkboy13 added 17:43 - Oct 1 Really luv Nunez probably one of the most popular players at the club. Sadly it looks like he's one of those players who falls short of being Premier league quality. Many players who move up to the Premier league struggle with the intensity and physicality of the games. Unfortunately popularity doesn't get you game time on the pitch.
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franz_tyson added 17:58 - Oct 1 He always comes across as a very pleasant chap, maybe even, a very likeable chap with exquisite taste. Fu#ck you Norwich City.
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armchaircritic59 added 17:59 - Oct 1 Given time and space on the ball he can make something happen. In the PL both those things are often in short supply. By the sound of things it could be that the Chile coach isn't long for the job if he's rubbishing players in the media. Usually doesn't work out well.
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ChingShady added 18:34 - Oct 1 Linkboy13 - were you born in 2013? Everything will make sense....
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blueboy1981 added 18:54 - Oct 1 Nunez is an impact player, somewhat unpredictable, volatile, and anything but consistent enough for the Prem’ or World level. Much to prove on both fronts as we have / will see. Let’s hope he can do both for his and our sake this season.
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ringwoodblue added 19:02 - Oct 1 Silly boy. I get that he is a passionate player but as he proved against the scum last year, he obviously can’t control himself in certain situations and that’s not something you can afford to do for club or country.
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arnoldmuhrensleftpeg added 19:41 - Oct 1 Who cares what the reasons are, this means he is not travelling half way round the world every other month, and there is less risk of injury, both of which benefit us.
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DavefromWatford added 22:34 - Oct 1 It appears my previous post was correct he wasn`t happy being an unused sub. As someone else said will he be like that with us, hopefully not.
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alexlanark64 added 23:04 - Oct 1 if he wasn't getting any game time, no harm done. now he doesn't have to do all that travel and can concentrate on the premier league
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jon_talbot56 added 23:05 - Oct 1

If you saw the way Chile approached the game against Canada I can understand why he is disenchanted. The game plan was straight out of the Argentina playbook but without the protection of the referee, who sent two of them off. That reflects the coach. Nunez conspicuously played his normal game while others did their best to needle and foul. For his trouble he was dropped against the US. Welcome back to England Marcelino.

Rubens added 23:19 - Oct 1

I think there's probably silly stuff that's gone on here, including from Nunez himself. We know that he struggles to control his temper and he's only borderline Prem quality. That said, as a Town fan of 40 years it's amazing to see him and our other (current) players in the news around the world playing for the likes of Chile, Ghana, Ireland, Japan, Serbia, and especially Morocco and Argentina. It's a world away from League One recently - with respect to Jon Nolan, Gwion, Toto, Norwood etc.

Carberry added 23:46 - Oct 1 Does he think he's Ronaldo?
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Pessimistic added 01:45 - Oct 2 He's a petulant little man, who I think should go back to the N-Word where he belongs.
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Dissboyitfc added 07:05 - Oct 2 Nunez does love to burn his bridges!
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Cakeman added 07:47 - Oct 2 The full story is not known. Nunez would not fly off the handle without a reason. As long as he carries on with us as he has done then that will be absolutely fine in my book. He has been and continues to be an excellent asset for the Right side in East Anglia.
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mathiemagic added 08:42 - Oct 2 This will only benefit Town, so happy days.
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tetchris added 09:02 - Oct 2 Maybe he left because he was cold as it says he plays for chilly! I’ll get my coat lol
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LandOfMickyStockwell added 09:26 - Oct 2 Tetchris. I'm sure a few spicy words were said in the Chilli camp.
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Linkboy13 added 10:06 - Oct 2 Yes ChingShady 3 years before you?
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philpott2 added 12:30 - Oct 2

Interesting.
Personally, I always felt he has a bit of that in him, the arrogance, confidence and the inflated opinion of his own ability.
He's done ok in the Prem so far, better than I expected, but still feel he is a little too slow and in a way a bit like Enciso he's quite selfish so doesn't always play the ball into somebody in a better position & would rather do something for himself (to receive the plaudits and reaction from the terraces he clearly enjoys).
By slow I also mean he's not especially quick around the pitch as well as the control and pass or avoid getting caught on the ball. Good enough to be in the match day squad but not necessarily a starter, for me.

PortmanTerrorist added 12:49 - Oct 2 That new Training Ground of ours can apparently heal the sick, and now it seems it can cause such longing that a player would rather fall out with his country than be away from Playford Rd for any longer than absolutely necessary ! I know I should not, but I love this. Come home Marcelino....but don't fly back into Norwich airport for goodness sake ! lol
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SickParrot added 13:07 - Oct 2

It would appear that he's let himself and his country down but at least we are the beneficiaries. He's a passionate guy who struggles to control his emotions but that can be a strength as well as a weakness. I think he has started the season well and I believe that he's popular with his Ipswich team mates. Maybe the Chile manager and some of his international team mates are just d***heads!