Eden Hazard has fuelled renewed speculation over his Chelsea future, saying “it is my dream since I was a kid” to play for Real Madrid.
The Belgian has been in blistering form for the Blues this season, sitting atop the Premier League scoring charts with seven league goals – he has eight across all competitions – to lead Chelsea to joint-top spot in the league table, level with Manchester City and Liverpool.
That sort of goalscoring form would be well-received in the Spanish capital at the moment, as the European champions have gone four straight games without scoring for the first time since 1985.
Hazard has repeatedly been linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu, most recently this summer following the World Cup, where he starred in captaining Belgium to a best-ever third-place finish at the tournament and was named the competition’s second-best player.
“I spoke after the World Cup and I said that I think it is time to change because I played a great World Cup,” Hazard said on Sunday after Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Southampton.
“I am really in the game, I am playing good football at the moment.
“Real Madrid is the best club in the world. I don’t want to lie today. It is my dream since I was a kid. I was dreaming about this club.
“We will see. I don’t want to talk about this every day. I don’t have time but we will talk about my future soon.”
Hazard is out of contract at the end of next season, which means once the current campaign ends, he’ll be in the same position as international teammate Thibaut Courtois, who forced a move to Madrid this summer.
The goalkeeper had just a year left on his contract, reducing his transfer value, and he failed to turn up for pre-season training at Chelsea before completing a transfer in August.
However, Hazard says he wants to avoid a repeat.
“I don’t want that,” Hazard said. “I want what’s good for me, but I want what’s good for the club because the club has given me everything.
“I don’t want to say: ‘Yes, I am signing a new contract’ and then in the end I don’t end up signing. So I will see.
“Sometimes in my head, I wake up in the morning and think I want to go. Sometimes I think I want to stay. It is a hard decision. It is my future. I am 27 and I will turn 28 in January.”
Hazard says trophies will not be the driving factor behind any transfer decision he makes, despite Chelsea having finished sixth last season and thus failing to qualify for the Champions League – a competition Real Madrid have won in three straight seasons.
“It is not trophies. Of course, when you play, you want to win,” added Hazard. “But I just want to enjoy things on the pitch, like I am at the moment. Then I am happy.”
