Chelsea are preparing for life without Eden Hazard next season.
The Belgian superstar sealed his long-awaited move to Real Madrid earlier this month and was officially presented as a Los Blancos player at the Bernabeu.
His parting act on the field was to lead the Blues to Europa League glory against Arsenal in Baku before officially putting pen to paper with the La Liga giants.
But former team-mate Emerson Palmieri admits he couldn't quite believe their star man was gone until he left their WhatsApp group with a heartfelt parting message.
He revealed there has been no activity in the group since as players enjoy their downtime before returning to London for pre-season.
Palmieri told ESPN Brazil : "On the WhatsApp group, the last move there was Hazard’s farewell.
"He said goodbye to the boys and such, since then, we don’t know anything else. It’s weird.
"He sent a ‘thank you, I love you guys’, and then it showed ‘Eden Hazard left the group’.
"I said damn, he really left."
Meanwhile, outgoing Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri is reportedly considering attempting to take Emerson and team-mate Jorginho with him to Italy.
The full-back joined from Roma in January 2018 but could be the subject of a bid to take him back to Serie A after Sarri joined Juventus .
The Italy international denied he would be distracted by rumours last week when asked about his future and declared he is content at Stamford Bridge.
"I’m happy at Chelsea, we won the Europa League and I am calm," he declared.
"I didn’t receive any call, I am happy here. There is nothing to say, I am focused on Chelsea."
