Eden Hazard claims that when he’s finished at Real Madrid he will go back to Chelsea, after calling time on a successful seven-year spell in west London this summer.
Hazard completed a switch to Santiago Bernabeu from Stamford Bridge for an initial £88.5m ($119m) fee on June 7, bringing to an end one of the year’s longest-running transfer sagas.
The Belgian won six major trophies during his time with the Blues, including two Premier League titles and two Europa League crowns, while emerging as one of the finest attacking midfielders in European football.
The 28-year-old hasn’t quite managed to match those high standards during his first few months at Madrid, having dealt with a number of niggling fitness issues.
Hazard has featured in 13 matches across all competitions for the Blancos this season, but only has one goal to his name to date, and won’t have the chance to add to that tally when Zinedine Zidane’s side arrive at the Mestalla to face Valencia on Sunday.
The former Chelsea winger suffered a fractured ankle in a 2-2 draw with Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League last month, missing subsequent fixtures against Alaves, Espanyol and Club Brugge as a result.
Hazard took some time out from his rehabilitation programme this week to speak to Chelsea fan Frank Khalid and, after being told that the Blues are still pining for the Belgium international following his departure, he responded with a smile and a wink: “When I finish here I’ll come back.”
Hazard added on keeping up to date with his old club’s progress under Frank Lampard: “When I can I watch. Not all the time. They are doing well, they’re young. Now they can pay for players, they can buy players now.”
When it was put to him that, with their transfer ban having been lifted, the Blues could look to sign Hazard, he responded: “I do my job here and then I come back.”
Madrid initially feared that Hazard would be out of action until the new year with his ankle problem, but Zinedine Zidane is optimistic that he will return to action sooner than that.
The Blancos are second in La Liga behind Barcelona on goal difference at the moment, with the first Clasico of the 2019-20 campaign set to take place at Camp Nou on Wednesday.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have risen to fourth in the Premier League standings after 16 fixtures, with Bournemouth up next at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
After their latest outing, Lampard will start preparing his players for a short trip across London to face Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham on December 22.
