Real Madrid planning to acquire Eden Hazard and Paul Pogba in one swoop??

While talismanic Chelsea forward Eden Hazard may have played his last fixture for his club at Baku, Azerbaijan, in the victorious Europa League final, finishing moves are being made at the Santiago Bernabeu to shell out a staggering £115million for the 28-year old Belgian.

With a year of his contract remaining at Stamford Bridge, London, Real Madrid could have to come up with £100m with a possible further £15m in add-ons on a four-year contract that could cost the club £400,000 a week in the form of wages to Hazard. This is a culmination of the Real president Florentino Perez's effort to bring in Hazard which started almost a couple of years ago. So much so, that Hazard's shirt No. 7 (that Cristiano Ronaldo wore) has been revealed even ahead of the Belgian's advent into Madrid. According to The Sun, Florentino Perez wants to announce the deal early next week after finalising a contract on Monday. Hazard will become Los Blancos’ first major signing since Ronaldo departed last summer for Juventus. Moreover, he is keen to make the move and said he was just waiting for both Chelsea and Real to come to an agreement.

The mercurial Belgian has come a long way since he was signed for Chelsea as a 21-year old from French club Lille for £32m on a five‑year deal worth £100,000 a week in wages.

Despite finishing third in the 2018-19 Premier League and 25 points behind champs Manchester City, the Blues have the endeavours of their Belgian star to thank for a place in the Top Four that didn’t look likely at one stage. Not to speak of the Europa League title where his feats made mincemeat of Arsenal in the finals with a 4-1 washout. Hazard finished probably the best season at Stamford Bridge this year, netting 21 goals and also having a hand in 17 more.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, went through one of their worst seasons in their history. Los Blancos finished 19 points behind arch-rivals Barcelona in the La Liga, got knocked-out in the quarter finals of the Champions League (that included a humiliating 1-4 to Ajax at the Bernabeu) and not managing even one silverware in the season.

Zidane Zidane, who re-joined the Madrid giants in March this year to replace the sacked Santiago Solari, has been under intense pressure to effect signings that have been scarce since the exit of the great Ronaldo.

Another player under the radar at the Bernabeu has been Paul Pogba, despite his mediocre show since the time he arrived at Manchester United at a record signing of £89m from Juventus. Zidane has made no secret of his liking for the United mid-fielder and there seem to be many Madrid fans who would like to see the 26-year old going out onto the field in their club’s iconic all-white kit.

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