Eden Hazard Appears To Say Goodbye To Chelsea Fans After Europa League Heroics

JAMES WALTERS

Eden Hazard appeared to say goodbye to the Chelsea fans ahead of his proposed summer exit to Real Madrid – and he might have given them the perfect parting gift.

In what might have been his final game as a Chelsea player at Stamford Bridge, Eden Hazard helped his side to the Europa League final by scoring the winning penalty in the shootout after the second leg of their semi-final with Frankfurt finished 1-1 after extra-time.

He also set up Ruben Loftus-Cheek for the opening goal of the night before the hosts were pegged back by Luka Jovic’s equaliser.

Hazard celebrated wildly with his team-mates after the final whistle but took some time to reflect on his own and looked emotional as he clapped the adoring crowd.

The Belgium international also threw his shirt into the crowd in what could be his final home game.

Hazard is expected to move to Real Madrid in the summer and they could announce the deal as soon as Chelsea’s season has finished after the Europa League final on May 29.

The Belgian winger has become a club legend since moving to Chelsea from Lille in 2012 and is ninth on the all-time top scorer’s list with 108 goals.

Hazard has become a two-time Premier League champion and won both the FA Cup and the League Cup in seven years in west London.

He has had an incredible season so far, and was unlucky to miss out on the Premier League Team of the Year.

In the Premier League alone, he has scored 16 times and provided 15 assists on his way to helping ensure a top four finish for the Blues.

Chelsea will take on Arsenal in the final in Baku on May 29, as they look to win the title for the second time in six years.

It is the first time in history that the finalists of the Champions League and the Europa League will all be from the same country.

Speaking after the game, Hazard admitted that he doesn’t know whether he will pull on a Blue shirt at Stamford Bridge again.

“I don’t think [about] that,” he said when asked if that was his final home game.

“I’m only thinking about winning something for this squad, these fans.

“If it [the final] is my last game I will try to do everything, if it’s not, then I will see.

“In my mind, I don’t know yet, so that’s it.

“Penalties is 50-50 so not the best game to play but the character is good so we go through and we’re happy.

“I always take my responsibility when I have to so today I score, we won. I am happy, the boys are happy, the fans are happy.

“But it’s not finished and we have another game against Arsenal. Against them we are struggling a bit the last two or three years so we need to go to Baku with quality and win the game.”

Yesterday Marca reported that Chelsea and Madrid were close to agreeing a deal for the move, which could be worth around £100m.

Hazard is Madrid’s top target for the summer as Zinedine Zidane looks to overhaul his failing squad.

Hazard, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe are on the radar as well after a disappointing season following Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit last summer.

Madrid are also expected to ship a load of big hitters out with Gareth Bale and Isco at risk