It's now or never for Chelsea star's dream – report
Chelsea winger Eden Hazard reportedly feels that he must make the move to Real Madrid this summer or risk never fulfilling his dream of representing the Spanish giants.
The Belgian appears set to swap Stamford Bridge for the Bernabeu at the end of the season as he enters the final year of his Blues contract.
The 28-year-old is keen to join Zinedine Zidane’s team and Goal understands that he feels this is a now or never moment in his career.
Zidane was a role model for Hazard when he was growing up and the Frenchman’s return to Los Merengues bench has only increased his longing to move to the Spanish capital.
The outlet insists that it's a simple question of Madrid or Chelsea for the forward.
UNPOPULAR OPINION I’m a Chelsea fan – and we'll be better off without Eden Hazard
However, the Premier League side’s £100 million demands have not been met as Madrid don’t want to pay more than £86 million for a player who is out of contract next summer – less than half the sum demanded by Chelsea last year when Madrid made an enquiry.
Maurizio Sarri is keen to sign on-loan Blancos midfielder Mateo Kovacic on a permanent basis this summer, which could give the Spanish club another option in the negotiations.
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Chelsea will discover on Thursday if their appeal against a two-window transfer ban, imposed by FIFA for breaking rules over the signing of Under-18 players, has been successful.
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Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.