Sources: Real's £88.5m bid for Hazard accepted
Eden Hazard is set to sign for Real Madrid after Chelsea accepted an offer of £88.5 million plus significant add-ons that could take the deal to the £130m mark, sources have told ESPN FC.
Though the initial fee for Hazard is significantly below Chelsea's original £130m asking price, it is understood that, when realistic bonuses and additional payments are factored in, the value of Madrid's offer will reach that figure.
Madrid's chief executive, Jose Angel Sanchez, travelled to London at the start of this week in the hopes of getting a deal for Hazard over the line, and the two clubs reached the outline of an agreement on Thursday morning.Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane had made signing Hazard a priority as he revamped his squad after a disappointing season, with Chelsea having resigned themselves to selling their star player before he entered the final year of his contract.
Hazard will leave Chelsea after 110 goals and 81 assists in 352 appearances in all competitions, with two Premier League titles among six major trophies won in his seven seasons at Stamford Bridge.
He inspired Chelsea to a 4-1 win over Arsenal in the Europa League final on his farewell appearance, scoring twice and setting up a goal for Pedro.
Sources told ESPN FC that Hazard had been in regular contact with Zidane for several months, with him and his family looking into housing and school options in Madrid.
Madrid have harboured an interest in for many years and asked about signing him last summer, only for Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia to make it clear he was not for sale.
Hazard's move to Madrid sees him become the club's most expensive signing, overcoming the previous record which was Gareth Bale's then world record £86m deal in 2013.
It will also see him reunited with former Chelsea teammate Thibaut Courtois, who left Stamford Bridge in a £35m deal last summer.
https://www.espn.co.uk/football/soccer-transfers/story/3865381/sources-reals-885m-bid-for-hazard-accepted
