Eden Hazard’s long-running transfer saga finally reached its expected conclusion, as the Belgian forward has traded the blue of Chelsea for the famous strip of Real Madrid. The 28-year-old has dazzled Stamford Bridge crowds since 2012, but it was always anticipated that Hazard would seek a new home for next season. Madrid will be hoping that Hazard can make the difference in bridging the gap to Barcelona.
A rumoured transfer fee of around £90 million reflects Hazard’s status as one of the world’s foremost attacking talents. Hazard arrived at Chelsea as a player of immense potential, potential that he has realised in becoming the Blues’ main man. Hazard reached double figures in league goals in 5 of his 7 seasons at Chelsea, an impressive statistic given Hazard’s role as the side’s primary creator.
Hazard reached a joint-best tally of 16 league goals last season, although it wasn’t enough to propel Chelsea anywhere near the top two of Manchester City and Liverpool. There were several matches that Hazard grabbed by the scruff of the neck, bailing out Maurizio Sarri on a number of occasions in an often tense first season for the Italian boss.
Chelsea received the perfect leaving present from Hazard, with the Belgian scoring two and assisting one as the Blues beat Arsenal 4-1 in the Europa League final. While that marks a strong success for Chelsea, Hazard stands a much better chance of upgrading to the Champions League final next season under Zinedine Zidane’s tutelage at Real Madrid.
With the prestige of Real Madrid comes added pressure. As of June 11th, Barcelona are 4/6 favourites in La Liga betting to retain their title next season, with Madrid in second place at 11/8. Barcelona have secured the last two La Liga trophies, while Madrid have only won two of the last eleven league titles. That relatively barren domestic period has been made slightly more tolerable by four Champions League titles in that time, but Real Madrid fans expect their side to succeed on all fronts.
Real Madrid need a main man to at least attempt to rival the somewhat talented Lionel Messi, a role that Cristiano Ronaldo filled successfully but that Gareth Bale has struggled in. Hazard comes to the Spanish capital as the man that fans will be hoping is Madrid’s Messi, which means that 16 league goals will not be deemed sufficient in the race for the title.
There are certainly similarities between Hazard and Messi, placing Hazard in rarefied company. Both possess balletic grace and the ability to produce something magical out of nothing. For Messi, that something is quite often a goal. Hazard will have aspirations of making the transition from a top 10 player in the world into a top 2 contender, which means he will have to be even more productive in front of goal than he demonstrated at Chelsea.
There is no doubt that Chelsea would have found replacing Hazard an impossible task, even without any transfer bans. Christian Pulisic has now completed his move to Stamford Bridge, but he has big shoes to fill. Bringing in Hazard is already a success in the transfer market for Real Madrid, so both player and club will hope that the two can take each other to the next level.