Eden Hazard chooses Chelsea over Manchester clubs

After a whirlwind few months playing with the media, Eden Hazard appears to have finally made up his mind as to where he’ll be playing next season, and the club that he’s chosen is Chelsea, who are likely to secure the 21-year-old on a 5 year deal, costing up to £78million. Hazard opted to Tweet about his future on Monday afternoon, firstly announcing that he’d made up his mind around lunchtime, then confirming that he’ll be playing for the Champions League winner later on Monday evening. The announcements caused a frenzy on the social networking website with fans expressing their opinion on the players decision, and the player himself, many accusing him of arrogance and playing with the interested clubs and the press simply to boost his ego and hold out for the largest pay cheque.

Monday afternoon’s Tweet from Hazard’s official Twitter Account @hazardeden10 said:

‘good afternoon guys. i made up my mind. see you later. thanks’

His later Tweet finally drew a conclusion to the longest transfer saga of the summer so far and confirmed what most of Europe wanted to hear as the Belgium International finally put the matter to bed with the following announcement:

‘chose promise chose due… je vais rejoindre le champion d europe.’

The tweet translates into English as:

‘I’m signing for the champion’s league winner.’

The signing of Hazard is a massive blow to both Manchester United and Manchester City, with City reported to have pulled out of the race to sign Europe’s hottest young property due to his wage demands of close to £200,000 per week. The apparent £6million his agent John Bico is expected to receive for his part in the deal is also thought to be a factor in City pulling out of the deal. Although there was no official comment from Chelsea or Hazard’s current club Lille last night, the deal will apparently cost Chelsea around £35.3 million (€40 million). According to the Telegraph, Hazard will demand wages of £4.6 million a year net of tax which equates to around £9million a year cost to Chelsea. Weekly wages are therefore expected to be around £170,000 a week which is staggering for such a young player, yet to play for any of Europe’s elite clubs.

Hazard’s decision to sign for Chelsea puts to bed a transfer saga that has included Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Tottenham Hotspur. Chelsea have already strengthened this summer with the capture of Marco Marin from Werder Bremen, and are also in talks with FC Porto about their striker Hulk. With attacking talent like Juan Mata already at the club, it could be a very interesting 2012 / 13 Premier League campaign for Roman Abramovich’s club, who as yet have not commented on who will be in charge at Stamford Bridge next season.

A statement from Stamford Bridge based Chelsea said:

‘As with all transfers, when we have something to announce, we will announce it in the usual way.’

What do you think of Chelsea’s signing Eden Hazard? Is it good news for the Premier League in terms of strengthening Chelsea’s ability to compete with the two Manchester clubs next season? Please join in the debate below – we’ll be accepting as many comments as we can.