•Hazard, the club’s Player of the Year, has made it clear he wants to end his seven-year stay at Stamford Bridge
•He is keen to win and possibly go to Real Madrid with the last trophy for Chelsea
Image: REUTERS
Jose Mourinho expects Chelsea to lose Eden Hazard to Real Madrid following the Europa League final in Baku. The Belgian is currently hard at work with his team-mates as Chelsea prepare to take on Arsenal in Baku on May 29 in the first of two all-English European Cup finals.
Mourinho, who managed Hazard during his second spell at Stamford Bridge, expects the 90 minutes in Azerbaijan to be the attacker’s last for the south-west London side.
“It looks like it is the last match in blue for Eden Hazard,” Mourinho told Sky Sports News.
“He is a player that was crucial for Chelsea’s success in this last generation and Eden also will try to be what he is the majority of the time— a fantastic player on the pitch.
“He will want to win and possibly go to Real Madrid with the last trophy for Chelsea.”
Hazard, the club’s Player of the Year, has made it clear he wants to end his seven-year stay at Stamford Bridge and the club are seemingly now prepared to let him go this summer.
Real Madrid are desperately seeking fresh faces to revitalise their squad with the club struggling in attack following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo last summer.
Chelsea are holding out for £87million for the 28-year-old forward, who cost £32m from Lille and has one year left on his contract.
The club have no interest in allowing him to leave for nothing next summer and he is likely to be given the blessing to leave should he deliver the Europa League title against domestic rivals Arsenal.
Chelsea have already secured Champions League football for next season whereas Arsenal must win in Baku to join the top table in 2019-20. For Mourinho, this works to Chelsea’s advantage as he feels all the pressure is on Unai Emery’s team.
“More pressure on Arsenal because they want the Champions League spot for next season,” the former Manchester United manager added. “They play for many millions so more pressure on the Arsenal side.”