Maurizio Sarri is doubtful over whether Chelsea‘s top-four Premier League finish, qualification for the Champions League and place in the Europa League final will help to keep Eden Hazard at his club.
Hazard is keen on a transfer to Real Madrid in a switch which he has publicly described as a ‘dream move’, which would allow him the chance to play under childhood idol Zinedine Zidane.
Chelsea will ask for €130 million (£112m/$146m) for Hazard, but Los Blancos will try to get the fee down to closer to €100m with the west Londoners being pressured by their 28-year-old superstar only having one year remaining on his contract.
Club chiefs could force Hazard to stay for another year but would risk losing him on a free transfer.
The best case scenario would be if Hazard signed a new deal to stay, which would make him the best-paid player at the club while earning over £300,000-a-week.
However, Sarri doesn’t believe his side’s late-season success will be a factor in Hazard’s mind.
“I don’t know. If Hazard is thinking that the history here is finished, then in his mind it is finished. I can try to speak to him but it is not easy. It’s not easy because of course, I want Hazard, but I want Hazard with a very high level of motivation,” Sarri said.
“As you know you have to ask the club because I am not in control of the market. I am not in charge of the renewal of the contract so I am not able to answer. I can only speak to the player but like a father, not like a manager.
“Also if I speak to him, I will not tell you anything. It’s a discussion between a father and a son.”
Willian has already come out and spoken about what a loss Hazard would be to Chelsea, who is widely regarded as one of the club’s top-two players, alongside N’Golo Kante.
The latest Blues player to echo sentiments of what a loss it would be to see Hazard join Madrid is Jorginho. The £57m former Napoli man who joined alongside Sarri thinks that he will be tough to replace if he goes this summer.
“A player like him would be missed by any team in the world,” Jorginho said at Stamford Bridge. “He’s fantastic. He gives you a lot. So if he leaves we’ll definitely miss him.”
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