Eden Hazard leaving Chelsea and joining Real Madrid is a transaction that has been inevitable for some time, but it’s reportedly been held up due to haggling over the transfer fee amount.
Hazard all but confirmed his departure to the Spanish club himself after the Europa League final, but the deal is still not done yet. We’re moving much closer now though as The Guardian reports that the two clubs have “agreed a fee in the region of €100m (£88.5m, $113m) plus add-ons.”
He will become the club’s third signing this summer after defender Éder Militão from Porto for £44m and striker Luka Jovic from Eintracht Frankfurt for £57.7m. In other words, the Bernabeu has been much busier and productive in the transfer market, at least thus far than pretty much every other team.
Having finished 19 points behind Barcelona for the La Liga title, and ousted from the Champions League round of 16, Los Blancos have plenty of rebuilding to do. And they may be adding Paul Pogba from Manchester United at some point this summer too.
As for Hazard, this is a dream move that he’s wanted for quite some time. And he’s not the lone major defection that Chelsea will have to deal with this summer. Stamford Bridge is working on another contract release fee, with Juventus, for manager Maurizio Sarri.
Indeed it’s certainly a summer of change at Chelsea FC.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, also contributes to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.