The Belgian has been heavily linked with a transfer to the Spanish capital, and with one year left on his current deal, it’s understood Chelsea could finally lose their talisman this summer for a fee of around £100m. Hazard has been tipped to make the switch for quite some time, and with manager Zinedine Zidane leading a summer rebuild in Madrid, it seems the Chelsea forward could become the most prestigious of the arrivals at the Bernabeu.
With constant transfer rumours along with the unveiling of an Eden Hazard ‘thank you’ banner at Stamford Bridge, the star’s exit seems inevitable.
Before any transfer can possibly be agreed, though, Chelsea have the matter of the Europa League final in Baku to contest against their London rivals Arsenal.
With a huge game left to play, and perhaps one final opportunity for Hazard to win another trophy at Stamford Bridge, the forward has reassured fans that he will not be playing the final as if it were his last game.
“My last match? I do not think that at all,” Hazard told RMC Sport.
“I’m only thinking about winning this match and then what will happen after that will happen. I have an important week to prepare, with a trophy to play for.”
Hazard highlights the distance the teams must travel to compete for the trophy, but is excited and will approach it like any other game.
“It’s a bit far, but we are preparing for it in the same way as if it was in the Premier League. It’s a European final, a great moment for both clubs,” he said.
“I’ve been lucky enough to win the Europa League already with Chelsea, but I want to win it a second time. We’ll go motivated like never before and try and win the match.”
Hazard mentioned that it’s going to be a tough game, with both sides having claimed a victory over the other already. Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-2 in their first home game of the season but the Gunners responded in January with a dynamic, high energy performance to claim the points in a 2-0 win, and the Blues forward is expecting more of the same.
He explained: “In terms of intensity, it will be a Premier League game. Two teams that respect each other, two teams with great players, we know their coach is used to winning the Europa League, but in a final it’s 50/50.”
Though his focus is on the final, it’ll be widely accepted by most fans that this could be his final appearance in the blue shirt of Chelsea.
Chelsea may struggle to replace him as there’s a potential transfer ban looming, which is creating major uncertainty around whether Maurizio Sarri will have the opportunity to bring in the players he needs to improve the south west Londoners.
However the Blues have already confirmed the signing of Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund who could be the perfect replacement for the Belgian, though not in his calibre yet, there’s definitely plenty of potential to develop at Stamford Bridge.