Chelsea boss Antonio Conte begs fans not to blame him if Eden Hazard is sold to Barcelona this summer
The Blues manager is keen to keep the versatile Belgian at Stamford Bridge, despite interest from Spanish giants
ANTONIO CONTE has begged Chelsea fans not to blame him if Eden Hazard is sold.
Barcelona want to blow the world-record £198million they got for Neymar on Hazard and Liverpool ace Philippe Coutinho.
Blues boss Conte admitted: “You know well that I have great consideration for Hazard because he is a really top player. But I repeat I’m the coach and can give my opinion - but the final decision is always the club’s.”
Conte has already laid the blame at the door of the club’s hierarchy for selling Nemanja Matic to Manchester United.
But Conte last night admitted for the first time that he is powerless to stop Belgian superstar Hazard, 26, leaving next.
SunSport exclusively revealed Barca’s interest on Thursday.
But Conte said: “I expect Eden to play with Chelsea. Don’t forget that we are trying to improve our squad.”
Hazard won the PFA Player of the Year award in 2015 following his stellar season for the Blues.
With the market spiralling out of control, Conte maintains that Chelsea will not be breaking the £100m barrier on any marquee player this summer.
He added: “Now is not the right moment for us to spend such a lot of money for one player because we need a lot of players.”
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