Chelsea showed just how much work they have to do in their tepid defeat against Leicester. The first step should be ending this Eden Hazard transfer / contract saga once and for all.
Eden Hazard should be getting paid the way Alexis Sanchez is at Manchester United. The Belgian is far and away Chelsea’s best player, and one of the few who are genuinely world-class. He has for years been chased by Real Madrid, and has stated on numerous occasions that they are one of his dream clubs to play for. The only chance Chelsea have of keeping the Belgian is by giving him an actual reason to stay and offering him an absurd contract.
Chelsea do not have a lot of wiggle room in this. In a straight standoff between the two clubs, Real Madrid have a lot of appeal. They compete in the Champions League without fail every single year. They just won their third Club World Cup in three years on the back of their third Champions League win in three years. They have a global brand matched only by Manchester United. And obviously they play in La Liga, where Hazard wouldn’t finish every single match as beaten and bruised as he does in England.
Real Madrid, though, is also the club that oddly refused to give Cristiano Ronaldo a contract over £350,000 a week. That may be where the Londoners can base their argument for Hazard.
Asking him to simply pick between the clubs on their merits is too risky. Offering him something in the range of £500,000 a week, though, would be a great move by Chelsea. He’s worth that much to them, and it would send a wave of confidence through the club at a time when they look shaky and vulnerable.
It would also signal support for the direction Maurizio Sarri is taking in his attempts to rebuild. He would have a guarantee of at least one of the best players in the world in his squad.
I have long thought (and have the articles, podcasts and tweets to prove it) that it would be a better career move for Hazard to stay at Chelsea, become a living legend, stamp himself as one of the best players to play for the club and break some records than just be a regular player at Real Madrid. His family is settled and he has young children. Uprooting them would be a big move for multiple Hazard’s. Chelsea could just tip the scale in their favor with the added contractual incentive.
Real Madrid will make an offer for him in the summer and the contract will be large. Chelsea should make sure he gets a bigger one to stay in London. It would be excellent for morale, and would proclaim the presence of one of the top 10 players in the world for at least another five years.
If the plan is to make it back into the Champions League and compete at the top level Chelsea need to keep their best players. That means paying them what they’re worth.
Eden Hazard is too important to Chelsea to lose. A contract that would make Real Madrid’s offer seem poor is an important strategic move.