Eden Hazard’s future has been decided, now the rest of the world gets to wait before learning where he’ll be playing his soccer come August.
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Speaking this week to French radio station RMC — in an interview scheduled to air in its entirety on Wednesday — the Belgian superstar indicated that his mind is made up after months years of transfer speculation: “I know what I am going to do. I have made my decision.”
Hazard is, presumably, referring to his impending choice between signing a new contract to remain at Chelsea for the remaining prime years of his career, and moving to Real Madrid after years of reported interest from the Spanish giants.
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On one side, Chelsea made it known in December that they were ready to “immediately” extend the 28-year-old’s existing contract, which runs through the summer of 2020, and prolong his stay at Stamford Bridge well into his 30s. Any such deal would, presumably, make him even richer than his current $260,000-per-week wages have already done.
On the other side, Madrid are painfully short on galacticos, and they appear increasingly desperate to fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure last summer. A move to the Spanish capital would almost certainly be the most lucrative of Hazard’s options, and wouldn’t be the worst thing ever for Chelsea either, given it would come with a price tag somewhere between $120 million and $155 million.
We’re ready to listen when you’re ready to tell us, Eden.