Eden Hazard's father sounds Real Madrid siren after rejected Chelsea extension

Get ready for some juicy and scary headlines after Eden Hazard’s father, who has no say in his son’s self-represented future other than some fatherly advice, dropped a few bombs in Belgium’s Le Soir newspaper.

Thierry Hazard confirms in this interview that Eden rejected a contract extension offer. And while there’s been no contact from Real, Thierry “feeds the soap opera” (that’s the newspaper’s take) by saying that Eden did so in order to keep the Real Madrid option open, just in case they come calling in the summer.

“What I can say about Eden is that he refused an extension of contract to be able, if necessary, to follow the interest of Real, where he would like to see himself. But, as I speak to you, there is no contact. Eden is only one of the parties to the contract.”

-Thierry Hazard; source: Le Soir via Google Translate

Or maybe Hazard rejected this initial offer because that’s how negotiations go (case in point: the year-long Courtois extension rumors, which only now are ready to coagulate into an actual signature). Eden is a little over halfway through the 5.5-year contract extension he signed with Chelsea back in February 2015. There is no reason to rush or panic at the moment, with over two years to go on that. While rumors have existed since the summer of a contract extension, making Hazard the highest paid Chelsea player in history at 300k per week, it’s all just part of the process.

Meanwhile, the Real Madrid angle is something we’ve had to deal with literally since day one of Hazard signing with Chelsea, which was largely painted as a stepping stone between Lille and the Spanish giants. And yet here we are, five and a half years later, with Hazard entrenched at Chelsea, his family happy in London, and plenty of happiness on the pitch and trophies in the cabinet.

However, at just a week shy of his 27th birthday, if he is ever to leave for Real Madrid, he surely needs to do it soon. So perhaps signing this third contract at Chelsea is the biggest career decision yet. It’s understandable that he’d want to mull it over, keep his options open for a while yet (again, 2.5 years still left on the current deal) ... and then make the right call and become a Chelsea legend.