The Belgium international, who continues to be heavily linked with Real Madrid, has admitted to having made up his mind on where he will be in 2019-20
Eden Hazard has made a decision on his Chelsea future but stopped short of revealing whether he will be at Stamford Bridge next season or heading elsewhere. The Belgium international is into the final 18 months of his contract at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea had been hoping to put fresh terms in place with a key man by now. Those efforts have so far come to nothing, with Hazard continuing to generate plenty of transfer talk as a result. Rumours of interest from Real Madrid refuse to go away, with the 28-year-old doing little to curb the speculation with regular admissions of an ambition to one day represent the Blancos.
It could be that such a switch is made in the summer transfer window of 2019, with Hazard revealing that a call has been made on his future. He told RMC : “I know what I am going to do. I have made a decision.” Hazard has not admitted in public as to what his next move will be. That is likely to ensure that exit gossip intensifies heading towards the next window.
When last quizzed on the Madrid speculation back in January, Hazard told France Football: “Would I like to sign for Real Madrid? Why not? “I have never heard from Zidane and if he goes to Manchester United tomorrow, for example, I would not be there. Real Madrid without Zidane is different, but it is still Real Madrid. I’ve won everything in England, except the Community Shield, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to leave. I’ve always said that I want to try something different after England, but there are things that might make me stay.”
Since those comments were made, Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri has stated that Hazard will be allowed to leave if he makes it clear that he wants out of west London. He has said: “Eden is 28. If he wants to go, I think he has to go. Of course, I hope the opposite. I hope he wants to stay here with us and improve. He has the potential to be the best player in Europe at the moment.”
Hazard has been crucial to Chelsea’s season as he has improved on his World Cup form to keep Maurizio Sarri’s side competing for a top 4 finish ahead the resurgent Manchester United and Arsenal.