Eden Hazard has revealed the secret conversation he had with the Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, which helped spark his £89m transfer from Chelsea to the Spanish capital.
Hazard was speaking at his official unveiling at the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday night, where 50,000 supporters came out to greet the Belgian star.
Asked whether there had been previous contact with Madrid, Hazard said they initially got in contact after the World Cup.
“After the World Cup there was contact but I stayed at Chelsea for another season,” he said. ”I think it was a good decision. We won the Europa League, it was a good campaign personally, and I just think it was the right time to join Real Madrid.”
Hazard revealed that he bumped into Perez at an event in London – most probably Fifa’s The Best awards in September – where the president spoke about a potential transfer in a brief conversation between the pair.
“He joked that it would be a good time to move to Madrid,” Hazard said, speaking in French in his first press conference since sealing his transfer. ”I thought it was very nice to hear things like that from the president of Real Madrid.”
Hazard, 28, also revealed that his international team-mate and former goalkeeper at Chelsea Thibaut Courtois had also sought to persuade him to join the club.
“I had quite a few chats with Thibaut. He said I should jump at the opportunity, because it is the best club in the world.”
