‘I think it’s a goodbye,’  — Hazard Eden Hazard

CHELSEA’s Eden Hazard suggested he had played his last game for the club after his two goals helped the Blues beat Arsenal 4-1 in the Europa League final.

The Belgium forward has been linked with a move to Real Madrid and said he is now “waiting on both clubs”.

“I think it’s a goodbye but in football you never know,” the 28-year-old told BT Sport after Wednesday’s match.

But Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri said: “I know he wants to leave and I have to respect his decision.”

Sarri added: “He is a wonderful player. It took two or three months for me to understand him as a man and now I do, he’s a wonderful man.

“He’s an extraordinary player. He is a strange boy but when he understands it is extraordinary.”

If the final in Baku was Hazard’s final match, then it brings to an end a seven-year association with Chelsea, having joined them for £32m from Lille in 2012.

Hazard has made 352 appearances for the Blues and his two goals in the final moved his tally for the club to 110.

Discussing his future, he said: “We will decide in a few days – the only target in my mind was to win this final. Maybe now it is the time for a new challenge.

“My dream was to play in the Premier League and I have done that for one of the biggest clubs.”

Hazard was named Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year in 2014-15, scoring 14 league goals as Chelsea won the title. He then struck 16 league goals as they regained the title two seasons later.

Wednesday’s Europa League victory was his second in Chelsea colours, as he also collected a winners’ medal – despite not playing – in the 2013 final. — BBC Sport

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