Eden Hazard revealing that he dreams of playing for Real Madrid did little to ease the nerves of Chelsea fans that their star man could be leaving Stamford Bridge in the next 12 months.
These comments may reassure them slightly.
While on international duty with Belgium Hazard, 27, has told Telefoot that the Blues were adamant he would not be sold to Real Madrid in the summer.
“Chelsea were clear with me. I couldn’t leave the club,” Hazard said. “I accepted it. Anyway… leaving or staying, I was going to be happy. I do not regret this decision at all.”
Hazard has said time and time again he is happy to remain at Chelsea but with just over two years left on his current deal with the Blues, the winger who is currently in the form of his life knows that any kind of statement he makes about a potential transfer will be amplified in the coming months.
So, it appears that Real are once again playing the long game when it comes to signing a star player.
They did it with Cristiano Ronaldo, Thibaut Courtois and Luka Modric, to name a few, and that worked out pretty well for them.
With Julen Lopetegui on the brink after a shaky start to his first season in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu, Real badly need a new talisman to take over from Cristiano Ronaldo who left for Juventus in the summer.
At this point, it seems somewhat inevitable that Hazard will be wearing the white jersey of Real Madrid before the end of 2019. I’m not alone in thinking that, right?
That said, if Maurizio Sarri‘s magic continues and Chelsea launch a serious title charge, maybe, just maybe, Hazard will forget about the dream of playing for Real and instead extend his seven-year stay at Stamford Bridge. He is playing the best soccer of his career and Sarri’s fluid, attack-minded system is a big part of that.
In these sort of instances you could counter a move by saying something like ‘you know, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side…’ but the fact of the matter is that wherever Hazard plays he performs and makes that team better. If he heads to Real he will be their latest star in a long line. If he remains at Chelsea he will become a bigger club legend than he already is.
