Eden Hazard admitted Chelsea were not his priority when weighing up his options in 2012, before ultimately signing for the Blues.
Hazard emerged as one of Europe’s hottest youngsters at Lille, winning Ligue 1 Player of the Year two seasons in a row, before opting to leave in the summer of 2012. Chelsea finished that season in sixth place in the championship, but had won the FA Cup and the first Champions League in its history. Didier Drogba scored the equalizer and decisive penalty against Bayern Munich in the final, and Chelsea fans can thank him for Hazard’s signing.
The former winger admitted as much in a recent interview, revealing he had already made contact with other Premier League rivals over a possible move. The Belgian spoke to former Blue John-Obi Mikel on his podcast The Obi One Podcast: “ I spoke with Sir Alex Ferguson. I spoke with Harry Redknapp, who was the manager of Tottenham at the time. I went to Manchester to see the Man City training ground. So I had several options, but not Chelsea. Last year (at) Lille, Chelsea were not good in the league. I knew I would leave France to go to the Premier League, but not to Chelsea because I wanted to play in the Champions League. I left because you (Chelsea) won the Champions League.”
“Chelsea was far away”
Asked by Mikel whether this transfer would have materialized without the triumph of the Blues on the continental scene, Hazard responded bluntly: “My friend, Chelsea was far away (laughs)! This is why I say thank you to Drogba! »
Hazard signed for £32 million in 2012 and became a legend at the Stamford Bridge club. The Belgian helped the Blues win two Premier League titles, two Europa League trophies, an FA Cup and a League Cup. His impressive tally of 202 goals in 352 matches helped him join European giants Real Madrid in 2019, but injuries ended his club career. Despite his failures at Madrid, Hazard recently sensationally claimed in a recent interview that he is better than Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of ‘pure football’, with only Lionel Messi – and perhaps Neymar – considered better than him.
