Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri said he has known “for a long time” that Eden Hazard wanted to go – and also revealed that he will speak to the club in the next few days about his own future.
Hazard inspired Chelsea to victory in the Europa League final and then insisted he wants to leave for Real Madrid .
The Belgian scored twice as Chelsea humiliated Arsenal in the Europa League final but said it is time for a “new challenge” even before he picked up the trophy.
It is unclear if Sarri will follow him out of Stamford Bridge after lifting his first trophy with the club.
Sarri said: “I think we deserved to win the Europa League. It’s very important for me, but very important for us. I’m really very happy with my players.
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“Tomorrow, I will begin to speak with my club. 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.”
Chelsea star Hazard, who is a target for Real Madrid, said: “This is the perfect end. I want to say to the fans that I love them, they are part of my family and I will always support Chelsea. If it is a goodbye, thank you for these seven years.
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“We will decide in a few days and the only target in my mind tonight was to win this final. I have made my decision already and now I’m waiting on both clubs.
“I think it is a goodbye, but in football you never know. My dream was to play in the Premier League and I have done that for one of the biggest clubs so maybe now it is the time for a new challenge.
“I want a new challenge, like I said last year after the World Cup, now it is up to the two clubs. I am still waiting, like you are waiting, like the fans are waiting, we will see in the next couple of days.”
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Chelsea’s thumping victory was a devastating blow for Arsenal who missed out on a passport into the Champions League. Mesut Ozil was booed when he was substituted while others looked close to tears. Unai Emery admitted he is ready to sell some of his flops this summer.
Arsenal boss Unai Emery said: “We need to analyse, speak with the club, speak with the players, and do one step more in our way. But our idea is to continue carrying on improving with the young players who arrived last year. Maybe some players need to leave, to take a new way.
“But it’s not the moment to speak about that. I’m very proud of our work. Not very proud of not taking our target, but I’m proud of our work.
“The players did all we could in the possibility to achieve our targets. We are closer to the other teams. At the moment it’s not enough, but we can continue with the same team next year. Other players will come in and help us get better in our capacity. Is our idea.”
