Chelsea want at least £98.5million for Eden Hazard after rejecting Real Madrid’s opening offer for the forward, reports say.
Real lodged an offer for Hazard this week, but it was swiftly rejected by Chelsea who are holding out for a club record fee for the Belgian.
Hazard wants to join Real and reacted to the rejected offer with excitement, as he believes the Spanish side will now go all out for him.
Belgian outlet HLN claim Chelsea are open to selling Hazard this summer, but will not listen to any offers below £98.5m.
Chelsea have left the door open for further talks with Real, however, the Spanish side are not yet ready to meet their asking price.
Real sold Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus last summer for a fee in the region of £105m and Chelsea think Hazard is easily worth the same amount.
Chelsea are hoping to keep a lid on Hazard’s comments for the rest of the season, but the playmaker is now on international duty with Belgium.
Hazard spoke at length about his love for Real and admiration for Zinedine Zidane at last summer’s World Cup, repeatedly admitting he wanted to play for the Madrid club.
And Zidane’s return to the club has only strengthened Hazard’s resolve to join Real.
The 28-year-old has so far refused to pen a new long-term deal with Chelsea and enters the final 12 months of his current contract in the summer.