Hazard is always on Real Madrid's radar

Zidane told Perez to sign him in 2010

Posted Saturday, February 10, 2018 by Marca.com

For many years, Eden Hazard has been a target for Real Madrid.

In fact, has was one of the recommendations of Zinedine Zidane during his previous role as presidential adviser.

That advice was given to Florentino Perez in 2010, one year after the businessman's return to Los Blancos to reassume the top job.

The Belgian, who was still at Lille at that time, was an express request of Zizou, who also instructed Real Madrid to sign a young French centre-back playing for Lens by the name of Raphael Varane.

Perez listened to Zidane's advice, although the two cases brought two different outcomes.

In the case of the defender, Real Madrid were ahead of everyone else and reached an agreement with Lens for a 10 million euros deal in June of 2011, when Varane was just 18.

It was also intended that Hazard, who was 20 at that time, would join Real Madrid, but that was a much bigger operation.

The club, who had signed Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Kaka in 2009, could not complete the final step.

Roman Abrahmovich's Chelsea appeared on the scene and completed a deal for one of European football's biggest talents, one which closed at around 40m euros.

Since 2012, Hazard has never shied away from the fact that he would welcome a move to Madrid and even having a contract with one of Europe's biggest clubs hasn't deterred that.

Zidane, his great hero, is still at the club and his desire to coach the Belgian ace has only increased over the years.

Six years after his signing by the Stamford Bridge club, Hazard is still on Zidane's wish list, thanks also to his doubts over the players who currently occupy Real's playmaking role, such as Isco or Marco Asensio, who have both found it difficult to nail down a place in the starting lineup on a consistent basis.

Like almost everything in Madrid, the Champions League game against PSG will determine the club's transfer market movements.

A possible early European elimination could relaunch an operation that, in Madrid's view, has never been closed, but which has long been on standby.