You know the narrative: Eden Hazard is leaving Chelsea FC and joining Real Madrid. To paraphrase Jim Nantz, “it’s a summer transfer window tradition unlike any other.” Although this time it seems it will actually happen, if/when Chelsea sanction it.
Incoming Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic, a man that will essentially be replacing Hazard, has dropped a major hint that the Belgian’s transfer is on. During his first interview with the club’s official website, the American born ex-Borussia Dortmund man listed out the players that he said he is most excited about playing alongside.
“There are so many great players here already and I can’t wait to work with them all,” Pulisic told the website.
“I’m excited to play alongside N’Golo Kante, I think he’s a fantastic player and I can’t wait to meet him. Also there’s the guys in the backline, players like David Luiz and [Toni] Rudiger, I’m looking forward to working with them and I think it’s going to be really cool.”
There was no mention of Eden Hazard, who is certainly one of Chelsea’s “great players,” as literally won Premier League Playmaker of the Year this season and PFA Player of the Year in 2014-15. The Belgian is, essentially, Chelsea’s greatest player, so he’d the guy you would mention first!
But it appears he won’t be sticking around after the Europa League Final on the 29th of this month.
After the Premier League regular season finale yesterday, a goalless draw with Leicester City, Hazard told the media that he has made up his mind about his future and that he told the club a couple weeks ago about his decision.
He also said that he’s waiting for the club to get back to him. So like the rest of us, Hazard is forced to play the waiting game on this. Meanwhile a report by French publication L’Equipe, today claims that the sale was completed, for a fee of $113 million (£87.2m, 100.6 Euro) and that the deal will be announced following the Europa League final.
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.
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