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Football London
Football London
Sport
Lee Wilmot

The Eden Hazard decision Maurizio Sarri made at Chelsea that Cristiano Ronaldo must prepare for

Maurizio Sarri had some difficult times during his one and only season at Chelsea.

The Italian was condemned for refusing to alter his system, despite guiding the Blues to third place in the Premier League and to victory in the Europa League.

It was the Italian's first piece of silverware in his managerial career and he left Stamford Bridge on a high.

He took the reins at Serie A champions Juventus earlier this month, citing homesickness as a reason for not prolonging his short stay in England.

And there was one decision he made at Chelsea that did not go down well with the player that it affected the most - Chelsea's star man Eden Hazard.

With an unwillingness to trust Olivier Giroud or Alvaro Morata during the first half of the season, Sarri often utilised Hazard in the number nine role.

Eden Hazard (Image: Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

It was a role that Hazard did not really enjoy.

Speaking after a defeat to Manchester City, Hazard said: "When the manager plays me up front I try to give everything.

"But we haven't played a good game and for me personally it's difficult to play a good game when you only touch the ball three times."

And Sarri is preparing to make the same move at Juventus, with Cristiano Ronaldo, albeit with a player that is more used to playing there than Hazard was.

According to reports in Italy, Sarri and Juve director of sport Fabio Paratici have flown out to meet with Ronaldo to discuss his plans for the team, which include moving the Portuguese into a number nine role, with Ronaldo now being dubbed CR9, as opposed to the CR7 he became famous for.

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