Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has said that he “knows Eden wants to leave” Stamford Bridge and wants to “respect his decision”, after the Belgian admitted that he “thinks it’s a goodbye” after the club’s 4-1 Europa League final win over Arsenal.
Hazard, 28, scored two goals in the final and assisted another and after the match he did little to dampen speculation he is poised to join Real Madrid this summer.
“I think it’s a goodbye, but in football you never know,” he told BT Sport.
“We will decide in a few days – the only target in my mind was to win this final.”
He added: “Maybe now it is the time for a new challenge.”
1/22 Petr Cech – 7
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2/22 Sokratis Papastathopoulos – 6
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3/22 Laurent Koscielny – 6
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4/22 Nacho Monreal – 5
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5/22 Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 7
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6/22 Lucas Torreira – 5
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7/22 Granit Xhaka – 6
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8/22 Sead Kolasinac – 5
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9/22 Mesut Ozil – 5
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10/22 Alexandre Lacazette – 6
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11/22 Pierrer-Emerick Aubameyang – 6
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12/22 Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6
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13/22 Cesar Azpiulicueta – 7
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14/22 David Luiz – 7
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15/22 Andreas Christensen – 7
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16/22 Emerson – 7
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17/22 N’Golo Kante – 6
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18/22 Jorginho – 6
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19/22 Mateo Kovacic – 6
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20/22 Pedro – 7
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21/22 Olivier Giroud – 8
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22/22 Eden Hazard – 8
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1/22 Petr Cech – 7
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2/22 Sokratis Papastathopoulos – 6
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3/22 Laurent Koscielny – 6
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4/22 Nacho Monreal – 5
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5/22 Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 7
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6/22 Lucas Torreira – 5
AFP/Getty Images
7/22 Granit Xhaka – 6
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8/22 Sead Kolasinac – 5
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9/22 Mesut Ozil – 5
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10/22 Alexandre Lacazette – 6
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11/22 Pierrer-Emerick Aubameyang – 6
AFP/Getty Images
12/22 Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6
AFP/Getty Images
13/22 Cesar Azpiulicueta – 7
AP
14/22 David Luiz – 7
Action Images via Reuters
15/22 Andreas Christensen – 7
AFP/Getty Images
16/22 Emerson – 7
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17/22 N’Golo Kante – 6
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18/22 Jorginho – 6
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19/22 Mateo Kovacic – 6
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20/22 Pedro – 7
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21/22 Olivier Giroud – 8
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22/22 Eden Hazard – 8
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And after the match, Sarri declared that Hazard was a “wonderful player” but admitted that the club have a battle on their hands to keep hold of their prized asset.
“As you know, Hazard is a wonderful player, but you have to spend two or three months to understand him as a man,” Sarri said. “But when you are able to understand him as a man, he’s a wonderful man.
“I knew. I knew that Eden wanted to leave, of course. But, as I said in every press conference, I wanted to respect his decision. And now I have to speak to my club.”
Sarri also revealed that he will seek talks with Roman Abramovich and Marina Granovskaia with his own position the subject of much speculation. Sarri only joined Chelsea in the summer but has already been linked with replacing Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus.
“The season is only finished one hour ago. Tomorrow, I will begin to speak with my club, with the owner, with a director, with Marina… I don’t know.
“We need to speak like at any club at the end of the season. We need to know what the club can do for me, and what I can do better for the club. Also the club need to speak to me.
“Then, after a couple of days, I will decide. I have a contract so, at the moment, we are talking about nothing.”
