HAZARD SAYS: I WANT TO GO
EDEN HAZARD completed his seventh season as a Chelsea player and then said he had informed the club of his desire to leave for Real Madrid.
‘I have made my decision but it is not just about me,’ Hazard said last night. ‘I told the club a couple of weeks ago. I wanted it to be cleared up earlier but that’s not happened. I’m still waiting.’
Chelsea will be back in the Champions League next season — the point at Leicester was enough to clinch third place — but Hazard said that would make no difference to his decision.
At 28, he is ready for a new challenge but Real Madrid must still agree a transfer fee to free him from the final year of his contract.
‘We have a final to play and then I will see,’ Hazard said. ‘It has never been a distraction. When I am on the pitch I just try to do the best. I am not thinking about this and this, my situation or the club’s situation. I just try to win games.’
If this was a glimpse of life without Hazard, then it will send a shiver through the corridors of Stamford Bridge. He spent most of the game on the bench as head coach Maurizio Sarri made six changes, and was unable to find a winner when he came on.
Hazard saluted fans after the final whistle and they sang for him to stay. But he did not linger. ‘Eden has tried his best for seven seasons at Chelsea,’ said Sarri. ‘He has become one of the best two or three players in the world but I think also that we have to respect him and his decision. I hope, like every fan of Chelsea, that he will remain with us. But at the moment, I don’t know.’
Chelsea finished in third with two more points than last season and with the Europa League final against Arsenal to come.
‘We played a League Cup final against Manchester City and we have a very important match, the final in the Europa League. At the moment the season is very good, but the season can become wonderful,’ Sarri said.
The Italian stressed his desire to return for another bite at the Premier League, despite his side’s mid-season wobble. ‘I can say only that the club asked me to get into the Champions League and we have reached the target,’ he said.
‘I love English football. I love the Premier League. The level is really the best in the world. The atmosphere in the stadiums is wonderful. I like very much to stay here.’
For all the positives, Chelsea still trail in 26 points behind Manchester City, a transfer ban looms and Hazard appears set to leave.
Leicester finished ninth at the end of a season scarred by the helicopter crash which killed owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in October. They bid farewell to Shinji Okazaki and Danny Simpson, two stars of the title win in 2016, and are excited to see where Brendan Rodgers can take this young and fast-emerging team.
‘I’m very pleased with how the season’s finished,’ said Rodgers. ‘We can go away and be proud.’