It has been no secret that Real Madrid covet Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard as the crown jewel of the squad overhaul set to take place this summer, nor has it been exactly strictly confidential news that Hazard is also quite keen on making the move to the Spanish capital.
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It was widely speculated — even by Hazard himself — that Wednesday’s Europa League final, which the Blues won by thumping Arsenal, could be the 28-year-old Belgian’s final game for the club.
Mere minutes after the final whistle in Baku, Azerbaijan, Hazard was, shall we say, extremely transparent about what lies ahead — quotes from the BBC:“We will decide in a few days and the only target in my mind was to win this final. I have made my decision already and now I’m waiting on both clubs. I think it is a goodbye, but in football you never know. My dream was to play in the Premier League and I have done that for one of the biggest clubs, so maybe now it is the time for a new challenge.”
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“It was good. I think both teams were playing with a bit of stress with it being a final but when Olivier [Giroud] scored it was the beginning of a great night. We played well and controlled the game and I’m happy to leave this trophy with the boys. The manager said to carry on playing football at the break and today we showed this mentality.”
The Blues are set to begin a two-window transfer ban this summer, meaning the roughly $150 million they are expected to receive in exchange for Hazard will burn a hole in Maurizio Sarri’s pocket — assuming he remains as manager, of course — until this time next year.
