Real Madrid confirm Eden Hazard signing
Real Madrid have confirmed the signing of Eden Hazard from Chelsea for a reported initial fee of £82 million.
The Belgium international joins Los Blancos on a five-year-deal after spending seven seasons at Stamford Bridge, scoring 110 goals in 352 games and winning six major honours.
Hazard joins Real Madrid: Five key things to know…
- Hazard joined Chelsea in 2012 from Lille.
- In the seven years following, he won six major honours scored 110 goals for the Blues.
- Real Madrid finished third in La Liga last season and failed to reach the finals of the Champions League and Copa del Rey.
- Zinedine Zidane has made Hazard his third major signing of the summer, alongside Luka Jovic and Eder Militao.
- Hazard has often referred to Real as his ‘dream’ move.
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But Hazard has long been linked with Real Madrid, often highlighting the club as his ‘dream’ destination and with Zinedine Zidane revamping his squad after a disappointing campaign which included a third-place La Liga finish and a Champions League round-of-16 exit to Ajax, the 28-year-old has finally made the switch.
The Spanish capital club confirmed the news via a statement on their official website which read: “Real Madrid CF and Chelsea FC have agreed to the transfer of the player Eden Hazard.
“The player remains linked to the club during the next five seasons, until June 30, 2024.
“Eden Hazard will be presented as a new player of Real Madrid on Thursday June 13 at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, after passing the relevant medical examination.”
👉 #WelcomeHazard pic.twitter.com/6CvH9LHXSy
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) June 7, 2019
Chelsea released their own statement regarding the deal that sees one of their very best in recent times transfer from the Premier League to La Liga.
Club director Marina Granovskaia said: “Although it is with sadness we say goodbye to Eden and we made it absolutely clear to him the club wished him to stay, we respect the decision he has made to take on a new challenge in a different country and follow his childhood dream of playing for Real Madrid.
‘The memories he leaves us with will not fade. He provided all who watched Chelsea play with great entertainment and many match-winning contributions, and for that we thank Eden enormously. He has been a model professional throughout his time at the club, a wonderful individual to have around and a joy to work with. We look forward to welcoming him back to Stamford Bridge in the future.”
Hazard will join Serbian striker Luka Jovic, Brazilian defender Eder Militao and forward Rodrygo Goes as Real’s new signings in what promises to be a busy summer at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Where will Hazard fit in at Real Madrid?
With a rejuvenated Karim Benzema scoring 30 goals in 52 games last season and Jovic arriving from Eintracht Frankfurt, we may well see Zidane revert back to the two-man strikeforce he adopted while Cristiano Ronaldo was at Real Madrid.
Gareth Bale was supposed to be the man to step into the void left by the Portuguese icon but through a mixture of injuries and bad luck, it just hasn’t happened for the Welshman.
With that in mind, Hazard is expected to play off the left flank, where his supreme ability with both feet can really shine. The Belgium international can just as easily hit the byline and service Benzema and Jovic as he can cut inside and go for goal himself, making Real far more predictable than last season.
Youngster Vinicius Jr would play on the right-hand side but he and Hazard would likely be free to switch flanks as they see fit.