Transfer Rumors 2018: Eden Hazard Met Real Madrid Officials to Discuss Chelsea Exit
Real Madrid seem to be lining up Chelsea's Eden Hazard as their next "galáctico" signing.
According to Scottish football journalist Duncan Castles, the Spanish giants have already met Hazard in person and they view him as an heir-apparent to aging forward Cristiano Ronaldo. Castles claimed that Los Blancos manager Zinedine Zidane even has Hazard's mobile number.
"Those who know the Belgian well will tell you that Hazard neither hides neither his interest in playing for Madrid, nor his queries over whether those approaches will ever translate into a formal offer," Castles said in his report.
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"If Madrid move for the player, Chelsea expect Hazard to ask to leave. And they know Madrid have the financial firepower to pay a transfer fee that a bottom-line conscious club preparing to rebuild its stadium at vast expense would find extremely hard to turn down," he added.
For their part, Chelsea are expected to do everything possible to hold on to the Belgian Star and they have been trying to tie him down to a new £300,000-a-week deal.
But Hazard has been flirting with the idea of joining Real Madrid for some time now, so he may be prepared to make the move to the Santiago Bernabéu when they finally come calling.
As noted by Castles, Hazard's move to Real Madrid is expected to be one of the most expensive transfers of all time, but club president Florentino Pérez has always been willing to spend big to bring in world-class footballers.
The question is, will Real Madrid still pursue Hazard if they decide to keep Ronaldo?
Meanwhile, Castles has also claimed that Thibaut Courtois has been in contact with Real Madrid officials as well. The Chelsea goalkeeper is seen as a potential replacement for current first-choice goalkeeper Keylor Navas, and he has been linked to a move back to Spain for some time now.
