Chelsea star Eden Hazard has admitted that he had hoped to leave the club during the summer transfer window to join reigning European champions Real Madrid.
Following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo from Los Blancos to Juventus, Hazard was linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu. Chelsea have struggled to find consistency over the past few years and things looked bleak during the summer transfer window following a lack of incoming marquee signings and the departures of Thibaut Courtois and former manager Antonio Conte.
Hazard had a successful World Cup campaign with Belgium, who finished third, and it was widely expected that he would end up leaving the Bridge during the summer transfer window. However, Chelsea played hard to get, and in the end, he ended up staying put.
Hazard’s current contract is set to expire at the end of the 2019-20 season. He has so far yet to extend. This means that if the Blues fail to persuade him to sign a new deal before the end of the season, they could potentially have to sell him at the end of the season or risk losing him either on the cheap or for free.
Now, after months of speculation, Hazard has made an honest admission and said that he had hoped to leave Chelsea during the summer transfer window. He told BT Sport, via Daily Mail: “I will tell you the truth, after the World Cup I wanted to leave, because my dream is to play in Spain.”
“But then I talked with the board here, with the manager, and I say OK you don’t want me to leave, I can stay no problem. I’m happy here, to stay I think was the right decision.”
