Eden Hazard will leave Real Madrid this summer despite still having 12 months left on his contract, the club have confirmed. The forward has been heavily linked with a move away from Spain after failing to live up to his £100m price tag.
The pure presence of the 32-year-old is nowhere near the level that torn defences in the Premier League apart between 2012-2019. During his time at the Santiago Bernabeu, Hazard scored only seven goals in 76 appearances - totalling a remarkable £15m each goal.
Now, the former Chelsea man will seek a new challenge. At 32, he still has a couple years left in him and a possible return to the Premier League could very well be an option.
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For now, a Stamford Bridge comeback remains mooted. But Arsenal are an obvious club to link with the Belgian international. Reports in January suggested Mikel Arteta was keen on signing Hazard, with some claiming the Gunners were 'in talks' to sign him.
The deal never happened and Arsenal signed Leandro Trossard after missing out on Mykhailo Mudrky to Chelsea.
Though the signing doesn't necessarily follow Edu Gaspar's transfer strategy that has brought miniature success in recent years, Hazard wouldn't take much convincing. Back in 2021, Hazard admitted he has an affection for the north London outfit, despite his love for Chelsea.
"When I was little, the team I watched the most was the French national team," he told On the Front Foot Magazine. "For me, the players I looked up to were Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry.
"It's difficult for me to admit because of my relationship with Chelsea, but I really liked the Arsenal team at the time. They had players like Robert Pires, [Sylvain] Wiltord, and [Patrick] Vieira, so it was mainly French players that I followed up growing."
Arsenal boss Arteta has already admitted that his current squad isn't at the required level to compete in the Premier League and Champions League. "No. At the level that we want no. We didn't have the capacity to do that as well with the Europa League so it's part of that evolution," he told football.london.
"We have made a lot of good steps and strong steps in that journey and we have to continue. That never ends. We want to be better and the rest will be better, then the margins will be higher and we have to start to live with those standards and improve and be smarter."
If Hazard can be housed in the right environment this summer and produce the same form he once did in the Premier League, he could be exquisite business.
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