When the Champions League final rolls into Paris on May 27, some Chelsea fans might be forgiven for chucking on a Real Madrid shirt because their club could stand to profit massively from a win for Los Blancos.
Admittedly, the relatively fresh memory of Carlo Ancelotti’s side knocking them out might be too much for some Blues fans, but they’d certainly be better off with a Real Madrid win, given how much money they could make from the Eden Hazard transfer in June 2019.
Hazard was the main man during his time at Stamford Bridge but has found life significantly more difficult in Spain.
The mercurial Belgian has made only a handful of appearances this season and has been forced to have surgery on his ankle.
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In fact, Hazard hasn’t featured for Real since February 19.
Still, he’s been in the side on three occasions in this year’s Champions League, so would be eligible for a medal should they defeat Liverpool at the Stade de France.
That means that further add-ons in the deal between Chelsea and Real would be payable.
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The exact amount isn’t known, but Chelsea have reportedly already picked up cash from Madrid’s title win this year, as well as their qualification for the Champions League.
The Sun reports that the significant extra payments – taking the deal from £88.5 million to a maximum £130 million – could be paid to the club, even though they are currently under sanctions placed on owner Roman Abramovich by the UK government.
Abramovich is expected to sell the club by this summer, meaning that the extra payments Real would make for the 31-year-old Hazard would be able to pass straight into the Chelsea coffers.
Madrid managed to make it to the final with a last-gasp victory over Manchester City.
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Two goals in the latter stages of normal time followed by a Karim Benzema penalty put the 13 times champions into yet another final.
There they’ll face Liverpool, who saw off a spirited second leg fightback from Villarreal to qualify for a third final in five years.
This latest showpiece is a re-run of the 2017/18 final, where goalkeeper Loris Karius famously had one of the most torrid nights in football history, and Gareth Bale scored a Champions League final goal for the ages.
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Fans will be hoping that the two sides can create a game that has as much entertainment, although they’ll hope for more quality than Karius’ mishaps.
Chelsea fans might even allow themselves to get behind the Spanish champions, given the cash they stand to pocket if Big Ears heads back to Madrid.
Topics: Football, Champions League, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Eden Hazard, Transfers
Tom Wood