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What's the rumour?
It has almost been an entire month since Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid and Florentino Perez and co. are yet to recruit a suitable replacement. Los Blancos, bolstered by the €100 million from Ronaldo's sale, have been linked with a plethora of top footballers over the past month.
The European champions have been linked with moves for Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski, Eden Hazard, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, albeit in vain.
Now, latest reports from The Daily Express claim that Chelsea could consider allowing Eden Hazard to leave if Madrid cough up a whopping world-record transfer fee of £225 million.
In case you didn't know...
Madrid's failure to begin negotiations for Paris Saint-Germain's Neymar and Kylian Mbappe seems to have forced them to look towards Hazard. The Belgian, too, has been very vocal about his desire to play for Madrid.
In fact, the 27-year-old has repeatedly stated that it would be a dream to become a part of Los Blancos, and Madrid seem to be the most realistic suitors for the Belgian's signature.
The heart of the matter
According to the aforementioned report, veteran broadcaster, Richard Keys has suggested that Chelsea could indeed sell Hazard for the right price.
"Chelsea are quoting Madrid £225m for Hazard," he wrote on Twitter.
He also added that Hazard's teammate Thibaut Courtois is also desperate to return to Spain in order to be with his family, who reside in Spain.
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Rumour Probability/Rating: 6/10
There is no doubt that Madrid will want to secure a marquee signing to fill in Cristiano Ronaldo's massive boots. Further, Madrid, who are known to spend big on transfers, have only spent a combined amount of about £62 million in the last couple of years and can certainly afford to break the bank if they deem Hazard to be the need of the hour.
What's next?
While a transfer fee of this size could tempt Chelsea to part ways with Hazard, they will only do so if they are capable of finding a replacement. With the Premier League transfer window ending in just 3 days, it will be touch and go as Chelsea will do everything in their power to retain him, considering that they barely have any time to sign a suitable replacement.
