Chelsea's Eden Hazard Says It Would Be a 'Dream' to Play for Zinedine Zidane

Chelsea forward Eden Hazard has revealed it would be his "dream" to play under Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane.

The Belgian star told RTL he is happy at Chelsea and that he still has much to achieve at Stamford Bridge, but he reiterated his respect for Zidane (via Ian Holyman of ESPN FC):

"Everyone knows the respect I have for the man. For the player he was and for the coach he is, he was my idol. Of course I don't know what will happen in my career in the future, but to play under him would be a dream. At this time, though, I'm happy at Chelsea. I still have a lot of things to do at Chelsea, and I'm focused on Chelsea."

Per Press Association Sport (via ESPN FC), Hazard, 26, has been heavily linked with a move to Real in the past, and his latest comments are likely only to increase talk he could move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

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He remains one of Chelsea's most important players and has started the 2017-18 season in similarly fine form to last term.

Hazard joined Chelsea from Lille in 2012 for £32 million, and he has since won two Premier League titles with the club, the UEFA Europa League and the PFA Player of the Year award.

He won his first English league title under former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho before then being earmarked as one of the players who fell out with the Portuguese in the lead up to his sacking in December 2015, per Jonathan Wilson in the Guardian.

The resentment between the pair has clearly diminished, though, as Hazard told RTL: "It wouldn't bother me to play under Jose Mourinho again."

Hazard starred as Chelsea beat Mourinho's Manchester United 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday to bounce back from a humiliating 3-0 defeat to AS Roma in the UEFA Champions League.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte will need Hazard to continue to be at his best if the Blues are to close the nine-point gap to Premier League leaders Manchester City and successfully defend their title.

The Belgium international's contract in west London runs until 2020, and he will likely have satisfied the club by saying he still has plenty to achieve at Chelsea.

But it is clear Hazard has a desire to play for his idol Zidane, and links to Real are consequently unlikely to disappear.