Real Madrid star confirms he wants to stay despite getting blacklisted by Florentino Perez
Eden Hazard has decided to stay at Real Madrid next summer, despite not getting regular game time. He wants to celebrate his time at his dream club and be around for the final year of his contract.
Carlo Ancelotti has not given Hazard a lot of minutes this season as Vinicius Jr. has been in top form. The Belgian was reportedly 'blacklisted' by club president Florentino Perez, who is keen on getting rid of players not in the manager's plans.
Speaking to Cadena Cope after winning the Copa del Rey, Hazard confirmed his plans to stay at Real Madrid next season. He was quoted by MARCA as saying:
"Honestly, I'm planning to stay at Real Madrid next season. I expect to stay as I want to celebrate the last year of contract I have left."
However, the U-turn comes just months after Hazard admitted that there was a chance of him leaving in the summer. He was quoted by AS in January as saying:
"In summer, it is possible that I go. I have one more year on my contract, and it's the club's decision. If the club tells me 'Eden, thanks for four years, but you have to go', I have to accept it because it's normal. But I would like to play more, show more that I can play, that I am a good player."
Newcastle United and Arsenal were linked with a move for Hazard, while a return to Chelsea has been in the rumor mill since he moved to Real Madrid.
Eden Hazard's Real Madrid dream turns into nightmare
Eden Hazard was a club legend at Chelsea but chose to move to Real Madrid for a club-record fee to relish his dream. He admitted that Los Blancos were the club he grew up dreaming about and couldn't turn down a chance to move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
He said in a statement on his social media handle:
"You now know that I will be joining Real Madrid. It's no secret that it was my dream to play for them since I was a young boy just scoring my first goal. Now the clubs have reached an agreement I hope you understand I had to pursue my next chapter, just as each and every one of you should when you have the chance to pursue your dreams. Leaving Chelsea is the biggest and toughest decision in my career to date. Now it's in the open I would like to put on record one thing was always clear to me, I have loved every moment at Chelsea and not once did I ever consider, nor would I have left for any other club."
However, things have not gone Hazard's way in Madrid as injuries have limited his time on the pitch.