It was reported that Chelsea value Eden Hazard at £200 million. But if the Belgian pushes at all, Chelsea will accept a much lower bid.
The Cristiano Ronaldo Juventus move not only shocked the world but started many things into motion. Most important for Chelsea fans is the fate of Eden Hazard, who did little to temper the rumors.
The recent weeks have had a similar pattern. Eden Hazard is valued at £200 million or more by the Blues. Real Madrid reportedly prepared an offer starting at £112 million and rising. Sometimes the Thibaut Courtois deal is included, sometimes it is not. Chelsea fans take to social media to balk at the alleged prices, saying that the Blues would never accept such a low fee.
And that is partially true. With the current state of affairs, Chelsea will not budge from their current valuation of Hazard. But all it will take is a push from Hazard for the Blues to cave and take the cash on the table. Even if it is “only” £112 million.
Fans and the club alike want to believe that the club has all the power in this situation. But they do not. Only Eden Hazard has the power to decide what happens to him. Yes, he has a contract for another two years. But Chelsea is not in the right place to fight him if he starts to raise a fuss.
The Diego Costa situation and the Antonio Conte situation have given the club a black eye. The club was unable to sell Costa in the window he asked, and thus exiled him (or allowed Conte to do so). That screams of a club that will hold players hostage. Contractually, they can. But that makes the club much less appealing to incoming players.
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Then the Conte situation dragged out far too long. He was a sacked man managing for months as Chelsea worked on the Maurizio Sarri deal. And when they finally let Conte go, they opted not to pay him, which is now causing lawyers to get involved. Sarri is here for now, but one day he will leave, and it will be hard to break away from how Chelsea treated Conte.
What this means for Hazard is that if he goes public with wanting to go, Chelsea will have little choice. Hazard is near universally loved by neutrals and if the image is that of the club keeping him hostage, the hate will rain. Chelsea will be stuck with a player who wants to go and will be hated for it. The only way out of that situation would be to sell.
Furthermore, Chelsea also realizes that the market for Hazard is there right now but likely will not be next summer. Real Madrid will get someone to replace Ronaldo, and once they do, the big money is off the table. So as badly as Chelsea want to keep Hazard, they will fold if he pushes for the move so the club can make maximum profits.
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So yes, right now Hazard is worth £200 million or more. And yes, some of the bids allegedly rumored by Real Madrid are currently laughable. But that can easily change if Hazard wants it to. The club is at the Belgian’s mercy until the end of August. What and (almost more importantly) when Hazard decides can shape Chelsea for years to come.