Eden Hazard Could Win the Ballon d'Or at Real Madrid, Says Cesc Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas has backed former Chelsea team-mate Eden Hazard to win the Ballon d'Or if he joins Real Madrid this summer. 

Hazard, 28, scored a brace for the Blues as they hammered Arsenal 4-1 on Wednesday to win the UEFA Europa League. Fabregas was in the BT Sport studio as two of his former clubs clashed, and the Monaco midfielder believes Hazard could realise his potential at Real:

Fabregas said:

"Unfortunately, I don't think Chelsea at this moment can give him what he deserves. 

"In terms of potentially winning absolutely everything, and even talking about the Ballon d'Or ... I know he says he doesn't mind about it, but deep down, believe me he does. And he really wants to win the Champions League.

"I think at Chelsea at the moment there is a ceiling for him, and he can go so much higher than this ceiling at a club like Real Madrid because these clubs—Real Madrid, Barcelona, now Manchester City, Bayern Munich—always come back. They will have terrible seasons at Real Madrid, but they will be back. No doubt about it."

Olivier Giroud opened the scoring against his old club before Pedro doubled their advantage in Baku, Azerbaijan, but it wasn't until Hazard netted his double that the result was beyond doubt.

The winger was recently named Chelsea Player of the Year for the fourth time since he joined in 2012, and his performance against the Gunners summarised what a loss he will be (U.S. only):

Zinedine Zidane faces a rebuild at Real and appears likely to overhaul his squad. Hazard has been strongly linked, and the French manager told reporters in April that he's "always appreciated" the "fantastic" Chelsea talent.

The Daily Mail's Pete Jenson reported Chelsea and Real have agreed a £115 million deal for Hazard, who has one year remaining on his contract and is set to earn around £400,000 per week at the Santiago Bernabeu.

It's widely believed the transfer, which could be the biggest move of the summer, is all but complete:

Fabregas, who joined AS Monaco from Chelsea in January, spent four-and-a-half years alongside the Belgian at Stamford Bridge and will have some idea of the winger's potential.

The Spaniard mentioned Hazard's nonchalance about winning the Ballon d'Or, football's greatest individual award. The player has indicated in the past how his priorities lie elsewhere, per Get French Football News:

The Europa League triumph is a fine send-off for Hazard should he join Real in the weeks to come.