Thibaut Courtois is confident Eden Hazard will be a roaring success at Real Madrid, but the goalkeeper has urged his team-mate to start brushing up on his Spanish to give himself the best possible chance of fitting in.
Madrid and Chelsea agreed a fee of €100m (£88.5m) – rising to €146.1m (£130m) with add-ons – for Hazard and the 28-year-old forward has put pen to paper on a five-year contract with the La Liga giants.
Hazard became Zinedine Zidane’s third signing of the summer following deals for Porto defender Eder Militao and Eintracht Frankfurt striker Luka Jovic.
He is also the second Belgian in as many seasons to leave Chelsea for Madrid following Courtois’ switch last summer.
Asked about Hazard’s move following Belgium’s 3-0 victory over Kazakhstan, Courtois replied: ‘If he speaks a little Spanish, it will be even better.
‘It’s very nice that we’re going to be together. He’s my friend, I get along very well with him and his family.
‘For Madrid it’s going to be fantastic. I think [Hazard] is going to make the difference and I hope we can win many titles next season.’
Bienvenido al mejor club del mundo!!!⚪️⚪️ @hazardeden10 @realmadrid pic.twitter.com/bDjo5szisD
— Thibaut Courtois (@thibautcourtois) June 7, 2019
Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin has warned Hazard that ‘the grass isn’t always greener’ following his move to the Bernabeu.
‘Hazard’s given seven years to that club and he has been stunning through those seven years,’ Nevin told BBC Sport.
‘His behaviour has been impeccable, he is the most skilful player I think has ever played for Chelsea Football Club.
‘Boy we will miss him and we’ll miss his skills, being able to see them in the Premier League. But you have to live with it and go forward.
‘Well done Eden, I hope you have a good time at Real Madrid.
‘I’ll just say one thing, sometimes the grass isn’t always greener and I’ll tell you what, Real Madrid might be a tough one for the next few years.’
