HA7ARD
Chelsea star Eden Hazard to take Cristiano Ronaldo’s No7 shirt after sealing Real Madrid transfer
EDEN HAZARD will have to make do with the No 7 shirt when he finally signs for Real Madrid.
The Chelsea ace wants his £115million deal wrapped up - as does Bernabeu president Florentino Perez.
But even though Hazard is set to become the first major signing of manager Zinedine Zidane’s second stint as Madrid boss, he will not be allowed to wear his beloved No 10.
The club are not willing to take the shirt off Croatian midfielder Luka Modric, who won the Ballon d’Or last year.
Instead Hazard will get the No 7 - which belonged to Cristiano Ronaldo before he quit for Juventus last summer.
Striker Mariano Diaz has it at the moment but is happy to hand it over.
Perez was hoping to have the contract for Hazard sorted by Monday and to unveil him early next week.
Hazard, 28, is keen to get the deal over the line after bagging a double in Wednesday’s 4-1 Europa League final win over Arsenal, after which he said "I think it’s a goodbye".
And his team-mates insist there are no hard feelings.
England midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, recovering from Achilles surgery, said: "He is admired by everyone in football, everyone can see how much of a talented player he is and what he’s done for Chelsea for the past seven years.
"If he leaves we’ll respect his decision and we wish him the best - because he’s one of the best players in the world."
Blues boss Maurizio Sarri’s future remains the subject of intense uncertainty.
The Italian has had talks with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in the wake of his Euro win.
But sources close to Sarri are now saying they would be ‘surprised’ if he left this summer after turning things around.
Sarri, 60, won the Europa League and finished third in the Premier League to guarantee a return to the Champions League next season - all in his first year in charge.
But Italian champions Juventus have him on their radar to replace sacked Max Allegri.
Sections of the Blues fans did not take to Sarri and are not keen on his ‘Sarri-ball’ style, which many find dull.
They also wanted to see Callum Hudson-Odoi, 18, get more game time before the England star ruptured his Achilles in April.
