- Eden Hazard will be given jersey number 9 if he joins Real Madrid this summer
- The Belgian attacker has two more seasons till his contract with Chelsea expires
- But his failure to put pen to paper has continued to empower other clubs to battle for his signature
Spanish League giants, Real Madrid, have reportedly reserved the club’s number 9 jersey for their summer target, Eden Hazard.
The Chelsea star has been heavily linked with a move out of the Stamford Bridge, following the delay in the renewal of his contract, which runs out by June 2020.
Hazard joined the Blues in 2012 from Lille in a deal that was valued around £31.50 million, and the Belgian, who has scored 68 goals in 199 appearances for his side has been penciled down by boss Zinedine Zidane to replace Cristiano Ronaldo at the Santiago Bernabeu.
And with the Premier League champions gradually losing their chance to play in the Champions League next season, the 27-year-old might not have issues dumping his current club for a new challenge in Spain.
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Both Chelsea and Real Madrid enjoyed huge success last year, winning their respective league titles, while the La Liga outfit won the Champions League title. But same cannot be said about the pair this season, as they are both struggling in the league.
Los Blancos are 15 points behind their biggest rival Barcelona in La Liga, while the Blues are fifth on the English topflight table after another damaging defeat to Manchester City on Sunday night.
Real are prepared to spend big to avoid a similar situation next season.
And a Spanish tabloid, Diario Gol, say that Real Madrid chief, Florentino Perez, will strip Karim Benzema of the jersey number 9 shirt to grant the Belgian his wish.
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It is the famous shirt that has been worn by past legends such as Ronaldo, Hugo Sanchez and Alfredo di Stefano.
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Source: Sports.naija.ng