Eden Hazard might be leaving Chelsea as he reportedly placed his contract talks on hold as he hopes to attract an offer from Real Madrid.
According to ‘The Times’, Premier League champions Chelsea are willing to pay the Belgium forward a whooping sum of £300,000-a-week.
Hazard, 26, is happy at Stamford Bridge but is unwilling to sign a new deal this season that has two and a half years to run as it would effectively end his hopes as he still holds interest in joining Real Madrid.
The Spanish club has desired Hazard for some time but, despite expressing interest, did not make a formal bid last summer.
Real Madrid have also expressed interest in goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, whose contract at Chelsea expires at the end of the season, and Antonio Conte is keen for the Blues to secure both players on long-term deals before the 2018 World Cup starts.
Speaking after Saturday’s 3-1 win over Newcastle United, Conte said: ‘The club knows very well the importance of these two players, I think these two players are very happy to play for this club. ‘It is normal during the season to have the contact between the player – or the agent of the player – and the club. I hope that at the end, Thibaut will sign his contract.
‘If you ask me about these two players, I will be very happy when they can have this deal but this is the responsibility of the club to try to do this. ‘I can give my opinion and for me these two players are two great players especially because they have a lot of space for improvement. ‘They are very young players and it will be great to keep them with us.’