It is worth remembering just how special a player Eden Hazard was at Chelsea. The Blues beat Manchester United to his signature and reaped the rewards: Hazard lifted two titles at Stamford Bridge and boasts a host of individual accolades as he became arguably the Premier League's best player at the time, bamboozling defenders with his prodigious dribbling and eye for goal.
By the end of his Chelsea career, Hazard looked to be the heir to Messi and Ronaldo’s throne. Whilst Chelsea sold him at the perfect time, they also got to witness a truly great forward in his prime before cashing in to fuel the development of the next generation.
The injury-prone winger was even rumoured to make a return to the Blues under Thomas Tuchel in 2021, but it wasn’t to be. It is perhaps testament to the sheer impact of the Belgian’s time at Chelsea that such a return was plausible despite his swift downturn of form since moving to Madrid.
With 245 Premier League appearances, Hazard’s twinkle toes and predatory knack for finding the net tallied him up 85 goals and 61 assists with Chelsea. The winger’s most prolific season saw him win FA Player of the Year in 2015 at 24-years-old, after amassing 13 goals and 8 assists.
The 2014/15 season was one to remember for Blues supporters, as Hazard’s clinical finishing and prodigious skill saw Chelsea through to top the Premier League and helped the club to claim the League Cup. Hazard’s move to Chelsea was greenlit in the opening stages of the 2012 summer window, clarifying the Belgian’s move as a key transfer target for Roman Abramovich’s aims to push the Blues further up the table.
Moving from Lille, the Belgian international was at the heart of an intense transfer war stretching across Europe. With clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona vying for Hazard’s signature, it came as a surprise to fans across the continent when he let slip his intentions to move to Stamford Bridge in a French radio interview.
The Ligue 1 Player of the Year revealed his motivations live on air, somewhat scuppering Chelsea’s carefully planned announcement, but giving the fans an insight into why such a sought-after rising star chose west London to lay his boots. Success leads to success, as Hazard revealed that the Blues victory in the Champions League drew his interest, making clear his ambitions and desire to earn further accolades with the club.
With a transfer fee of almost £32m, Hazard moved to Stamford Bridge where he went on to become a symbol of the Blues success, the fourth Belgian to join Chelsea’s stable after Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois and Romelo Lukaku. Hazard’s fee made him the Blues second-most expensive transfer after Fernando Torres’ £50m deal - and the Blues certainly made the most of him, eking out every last drop of talent and ingenuity from the stunning showman until his exit to Real Madrid in 2019.
That huge deal - worth an initial £88m, but potentially up to £130m - looks an excellent bit of business now given Hazard's injury problems in Madrid. While Chelsea fans were sore when the Belgian left, the money has been put to good use with the Blues going on to win the Champions League with a new-look squad.
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