Eden Hazard confirmed after the Europa League final that he would be leaving Chelsea after a trophy-laden seven-year spell.
"I think it's goodbye," he said on May 29 after a virtuoso display in the dismantling of Arsenal; and a week later national media reported that a deal had been done.
Real Madrid then affirmed the news, noting that Hazard would "be presented as a Real Madrid player on Thursday 13th June at the estadio Santiago Bernabéu, after undergoing a medical with the club".
The Spanish side did not disclose a transfer fee for the Belgian, although reports suggested up to £100million had changed hands.
So, while this timeline is fairly easy to follow, Hazard's registration evidently was not completed in time for Chelsea's financial accounts, which were published today and cover the 12-month period ended June 30, 2019.
Chelsea declared losses of £102million last season, and one of the main reasons for that was a severe drop-off in profits from player sales.
In 2017/18, Chelsea were boosted by £113million of profits from player sales; but this more than halved to £60.4million last time out, including the sales of Thibaut Courtois, Ola Aina, Jay Da Silva, Jeremie Boga and Jonathan Panzo.
Hazard's profit, which will now be included in the club's 2019/20 accounts, would likely have covered the vast majority, if not all, of Chelsea's losses last season. Logic dictates the sale was processed on July 1.
Instead, Hazard's profit will now be throw in with the lesser sales made by the club over the summer, including David Luiz, Kasey Palmer, Tomas Kalas and Kenneth Omeruo, among others.
Chelsea noted that their summer transfer activity after June 30 had provided an estimated £115.4million.
Given Chelsea will enjoy the fruits of Champions League football this season and have not dipped into the transfer market - yet, anyway - the club will almost certainly show a significant profit for 2019/20 with the addition of Hazard's sale.
