Eden Hazard to Real Madrid- will he or won’t he? In terms of the summer transfer window, it’s not just a familiar over-played song, but a tried and true “standard.” We’ve been hearing about the Belgian possibly moving to the Santiago Bernabeu for years, but the drum beat was never as loud as it was this summer.
Some outlets even referred to the 27-year-old Chelsea forward’s move to the Spanish capital as an inevitability, and that’s understandable given how he said right after the World Cup that he was potentially looking for a new challenge.
However, the opposite occurred and the Belgian will remain at Stamford Bridge. This reality has been confirmed by the player himself, as well as his manager Maurizio Sarri. So what happened- why didn’t he make the switch?
His father, Thierry Hazard has long been clamoring for his son to join the European champs, and he gave an interview to Belgian newspaper Hiet Niewuwsblad. He believes that the sudden, unexpected departure of manager Zinedine Zidane played a role.
“It could have been a different story if Zidane had continued as Real Madrid coach. But he had his reasons to leave,” Hazard the Elder said (h/t Football 365)
However, he admits that he doesn’t know the real reason.
“I can’t say what happened. Maybe Real Madrid have a policy to give chances to youngsters. Eden has another year on his contract next summer, and it’s possible that he’ll still end up at Real,” Thierry added.
Eden’s national and now former club teammate Thibaut Courtois made the Chelsea to Real switch, and he’s said publicly that he would like the forward to join him at his new team. Thus, this trade saga will no doubt be back in the next transfer window!
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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