Eden Hazard Completes Transfer From Chelsea to Real Madrid

Eden Hazard helped Chelsea capture six trophies during his seven seasons with the Premier League club.

Real Madrid and Chelsea have agreed to the transfer of Eden Hazard, the Spanish club announced on Friday.

Multiple outlets have reported that the transfer fee could rise as high as $165 million after add-ons.

The news marks the completion of long-awaited move for the Belgian international. Following Chelsea's 4–1 win over Arsenal in the Europa League final, Hazard told reporters that he thought the match "is a goodbye." His two-goal performance the win came after it was known that he had already told Chelsea of his summer intentions.

Chelsea posted a video on Twitter on Friday to thank Hazard for his time with the club.

Thank you, @HazardEden10! 💙#ThankYouEden pic.twitter.com/6mCgZSFNJg

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) June 7, 2019

Madrid owner Florentino Perez recently told reporters that he had been trying "for a number of years to make Hazard a Real Madrid player." The La Liga club has been increasingly linked with Hazard throughout the past year, with speculation particularly growing following Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer to Juventus last summer. He becomes the second major signing for Real Madrid this week after the acquisition of Serbian striker Luka Jovic from Eintracht Frankfurt for a reported $67.5 million.

Hazard, 28, joined Chelsea in 2013 following a $32 million transfer from French Ligue 1 side Lille. During Hazard's seven-season tenure at Stamford Bridge, he helped Chelsea claim six titles, including two Premier League crowns, two Europa League trophies, one English League Cup win and one FA Cup title.

Hazard leaves as Chelsea's ninth all-time leading scorer. With Chelsea facing a one-year transfer ban, the club will attempt to replace Hazard with reinforcements in the form of Christian Pulisic, the American winger who was acquired via transfer from Borussia Dortmund in January for $73.1 million.