Roman Abramovich Reportedly Ready to Sell Eden Hazard Amid Barcelona Rumours
July 10, 2018
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is reportedly considering selling Eden Hazard this summer amid rumours Barcelona have been plotting a move for the forward.
According to Sport (h/t Naveen Ullal of Sport Witness), the Chelsea boss is ready to "open the door" for Hazard to move on in this window and is considering selling the club himself.
It's added that Barcelona are interested in the Belgium international, with the club's technical secretary Eric Abidal keen to add another player of high profile to the forward line this summer. According to Sport, at this juncture the Chelsea man is a "possibility" for the Camp Nou club.
It's reported that Hazard doesn't believe Chelsea are matching his ambitions, as the Blues finished fifth in the Premier League last season and failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, and he is now ready to move on.
The London club are said to be considering shipping out one or more of their key names as a result, with Hazard, Thibaut Courtois and N'Golo Kante linked with departures as of late.
Here is a look at how the story was covered on Sport's front page, per Sport Witness:
Hazard is part of the Belgium squad seeking to make history at the FIFA World Cup. After beating Brazil 2-1 in the quarter-finals, they take on France on Tuesday hoping to secure their spot in the 2018 final.
The Chelsea star has been vital to their progress. As the captain, Hazard is clearly a person the rest of the team gravitates to, while his performances on the field have been magnificent throughout the entire tournament.
Against Brazil, he led the yellow shirts a merry dance with some of his touches, movement and changes of pace. As we can see, defenders have found him tough to stop throughout the tournament:
Those attributes would naturally attract the attention of Barcelona, although Hazard has been linked with the Blaugrana's great rivals Real Madrid, too. According to Manu de Juan of AS, Los Blancos are considering the forward as a target should Cristiano Ronaldo move to Juventus.
Barcelona's desire to bring in Antoine Griezmann in this window was no secret, with the club apologising to supporters for not being able to secure the Atletico Madrid star. As a versatile and dynamic forward, Hazard would potentially be a fine alternative.
As noted by The Spanish Football podcast, perhaps a move to Barca may be preferable for the player:
Still, Sport reported that Barcelona appreciate this will be a difficult deal to do. Although Chelsea toiled at times last season they will be keen to make an immediate return to the top of the Premier League, something that'll be a challenge without Hazard.
The issue for the Blues would be if the player agitated for a switch, especially given Hazard only has a couple of years left to run on his contract. You sense Chelsea will have some huge decisions to make when Belgium's involvement in the World Cup comes to an end.