Chelsea players also ‘afraid’ Hazard might leave, ‘really want’ him to stay

Zinedine Zidane’s surprise return to Real Madrid has seemingly come with a blank cheque from head honcho Florentino Pérez, and everyone agrees that Eden Hazard tops the list of Zizou’s desires. (And vice versa.)

Despite Chelsea’s unsurprisingly high asking price for a player entering the final year of his contract, Hazard is expected to undertake the new challenge of the Galácticos after seven trophy-filled years at Stamford Bridge. Of course nothing in football is ever written in stone. (It can be written in the stars, but never in stone.) There are those who remain hopeful that Eden Hazard can be convinced to stay, including possibly his current teammates like young full back Emerson, who joined just a little over a year ago.

“He shows every day how important he is. Obviously we have many players of quality in our team but he is on another level, and is one of the best in the world.”

”I personally cannot see him leaving, but you never know in football. Like Chelsea fans, we are afraid that he might leave, I still believe that he will stay and we really want him to stay.”

-Emerson; source: Sky Sports

It’s tough to imagine a Chelsea team without Eden Hazard in it — from his carefree attitude, to his penchant for big performances in big games, he’s become a symbol of the Blues since his arrival in 2012. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean he won’t ever leave, and if he does, it will be an end of an era at the Bridge.

Replacing Hazard would not be easy, especially if Chelsea’s transfer ban stays in place for the next two transfer windows. Perhaps Emerson & Co can work some behind the scenes magic and this story will just become another one on the massive pile of discarded and forgotten Hazard-to-Real rumors of the past seven years.