Eden
Hazard encouraged Real Madrid to make an opening bid for him, and his move
from Chelsea must happen now or never, says Belgian football journalist
Kristof Terreur.
Real are understood to be confident of signing the Belgium international
this summer, and Hazard has previously stated it has been his "dream" to
play for the European champions since he was a child.
Terreur believes Hazard has given Real hope of signing him at the end of the
season, explaining: "It's always been his dream to play for Real Madrid, and
at the moment for him, it's between Chelsea and Real.
"Real have made an offer to Chelsea so he must have encouraged them to make
the offer.
"It [is] now or never for him in my eyes. He's 28, he's played seven years
for Chelsea now. If he wants to have another challenge, it's now for him.
"With one year left on his contract, that makes the difference, as all the
cards are in his own hands."
Hazard produced a brilliant individual performance on Monday night to guide
Chelsea to a 2-0 win over West Ham that lifted them to third in the Premier
League.
Hazard said after the game he has not agreed a move to Real, but Maurizio
Sarri conceded Chelsea are powerless to stop him leaving as he only has one
year remaining on his contract.
Terreur believes the Blues will push for the highest possible fee from Real
if they are to sell Hazard, but has warned them to not gamble on losing him
for nothing when his contract expires in 2020.
He said: "They will definitely try to get the maximum out of the deal. They
took a huge risk when the player has one year left on his contract.
"If they force him to stay one more season, he's free at the end of next
season and Real might not be interested anymore. Then he may have to choose
another English club.
"That's not on his mind right now. He just wants to bring [Chelsea] to the
Champions League. He will offer them something but he wants to move."
Real were boosted last month by the return of manager Zinedine Zidane, who
led them to an unprecedented three consecutive Champions League titles
during his first spell at the club.
Hazard has made no secret of the fact Zidane was his hero when he was
growing up, and Terreur said: "He was always copying Zinedine Zidane as a
kid, so he has inspired him.
"Real were already interested in him without Zidane, but with Zidane coming
back in, it's all falling into place."
top