Cesc Fabregas has revealed his efforts in convincing Eden Hazard to rebuff the advances of Real Madrid and stay at Stamford Bridge.
Hazard has been heavily courted by the La Liga giants for some time and following the Belgian’s outstanding displays in Russia, talk of a mega-move towards the Spanish capital has only intensified. Lately, there has also been interest from Los Merengues’ bitter rivals Barcelona, who are reportedly prepared to offer Ousmane Dembele in exchange for the 27-year-old forward.
However, Hazard has recently stated in an interview that the Bernabeu is his choice of destination, saying it is everyone’s dream to wear the famed white shirt of Real Madrid.
And Fabregas, who has travelled with the Blues squad to Perth in a pre-season tour, has made a desperate plea to the Blues’ talismanic winger to remain at Stamford Bridge. “I won’t lie, I speak to him often,” said Fabregas to the local media. “He is the best player at the club and we need [a] Chelsea to keep the best players. He knows the fans love him and a player we love to play with. For sure, we want him to stay.”
Chelsea are believed to value Hazard between £150m and £200m. The forward has been unable to join the club’s pre-season as he is on an extended break following his exploits with Belgium, who finished third at the recently concluded World Cup in Russia.
Following Cristiano Ronaldo’s £105m move to Juventus, Real Madrid are keen to spend big this summer and Hazard has been earmarked as an ideal replacement for the Portuguese. The Chelsea hierarchy has recently offered their star winger a new contract worth £350,000-a-week in order to persuade him to stay, but Hazard has delayed putting his signature on a new deal, saying he wants to see how the club fare in the transfer market first before making a decision.
