Belgium star Eden Hazard drops hint about potential Chelsea departure
Hazard scored the second goal as Belgium beat England in the World Cup third-place play-off.
Eden Hazard has announced he could be ready to leave Chelsea following his World Cup exploits with Belgium, according to newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws (HLN).
Hazard, 27, sealed Belgium’s 2-0 victory against England in the third-place play-off in St Petersburg by scoring a late goal after Thomas Meunier had given the Red Devils an early lead.
The Chelsea forward then hinted at a possible move to Real Madrid, with whom he has been linked since the end of the season, when telling hln.be: “After six wonderful years at Chelsea it might be time to discover something different.
“Certainly after this World Cup. I can decide if I want to stay or go, but Chelsea will make the final decision – if they want to let me go. You know my preferred destination.”
Hazard, who turned in a man-of-the-match display against Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions, has been also been linked with Real’s arch-rivals Barcelona.
“They linked me to all clubs,” Hazard added. “Next week is Bayern (Munich). No, I laugh with it. You know my preference.”
Chelsea appointed Italian tactician Maurizio Sarri to replace Antonio Conte as head coach on Saturday and then promptly announced the signing of Italy midfielder Jorginho from Napoli.
Real are in the hunt for new Galacticos after selling Cristiano Ronaldo to reigning Serie A champions Juventus earlier this week.
