6 biggest losers from Eden Hazard's transfer to Real Madrid
It's official, Eden Hazard is now a Real Madrid player after the Spanish club announced his signing on a five-year deal, with the deal reported to be worth about €100m plus variables.
This transfer was probably the worst kept secret of the window, as everybody, from Hazard to his teammates had all but confirmed his departure from Chelsea, and it was always a matter of WHEN and not IF Eden Hazard would become a Real Madrid player.
Having previously stated that it would be a dream to represent Los Blancos, the 28-year-old finally has the chance to fulfill his destiny, with his unveiling set for July 1, 2019.
There are sure to not be many bigger deals than this during this window, and the football world would probably not be the same again following this gargantuan move.
In this piece, we shall be highlighting the six biggest losers from Eden Hazard's transfer to Real Madrid.
#1 Chelsea Football Club
When Eden Hazard joined Chelsea in the summer of 2012 aged just 21, he arrived as one of the burgeoning talents in Europe having starred for five seasons in the French Ligue 1 with Lille LOSC.
Since then, the Belgium international has gone on to cement his status as one of the best players in the world and can genuinely lay claim to being among the greatest to ever don the blue of Chelsea.
In seven seasons at Stamford Bridge, the 28-year-old starred, bailing the side out on numerous occasions and helping the club to win multiple trophies.
His time in West London yielded a total of six major trophies including two Premier League trophies and two Europa League titles and you would be hard pressed to find any player who contributed more than him to each of those triumphs.
On an individual level, his class also shone and he won numerous personal accolades including the PFA Young Player of the Year, PFA Player of the Year, Premier League Playmaker award, PFA Fan's Player of the Year as well as being voted into the FIFPRO XI but to name a few which underlined just how brilliant he was with Chelsea.
In total, he appeared 352 times for The Blues, scoring 110 goals to sit ninth on the club's all-time scorer's chart, while he also showed his creative side with 81 assists in total.
This means that the former Lille man was directly involved in a staggering 191 goals in all competitions for Chelsea since his debut in the 2012/2013 season, which is 94 more than anyone else managed in the same time frame.
Even if he was not scoring or assisting, Hazard's presence on the field meant he was always a threat to opposition defenders, while his constant and direct running often drew defenders to him, leaving spaces in behind for his teammates to exploit.
With his departure, Chelsea have lost a bonafide world-class player and one of the very best forwards in the world and with him goes all the assists and goals he provides.
It might be argued that they got a good deal by getting such a high amount for a player with just one year left on his contract, but Hazard's performance levels as well as the club's impending transfer ban means that they might not quite be able to get another player who operates on their former number 10's level.