Eden Hazard is almost surely leaving Chelsea this summer. To cope, some Chelsea fans have begun to smear the player as they prepare for his exit.
Some will always think “what if” with Eden Hazard. For all the talent the player possessed, there was always a feeling that he had another level ahead of him. He never quite reached that next level in the long term.
But many feel that if Hazard opts to stay that he will go down as a Chelsea legend. Zinedine Zidane’s return to Real Madrid makes that seem unlikely. It would be very surprising to see Hazard stay at Chelsea when his idol has just taken charge (again) of his dream club.
And whenever something like that happens, there is a rewrite of history for some. A section of fans have started to disparage Hazard and his time at the Blues. That pitfall must be avoided because Hazard is truly a Blues player through and through though he may never reach legendary status.
This is not a new phenomenon. When Jose Mourinho was sacked, Hazard was deemed one of the ring leaders by misspelled signs at the Bridge. Whether he was or not, Chelsea was in the relegation zone. Hazard spent most of the back end of that season injured, making it unlikely that he was playing poorly merely to push Mourinho out.
But that narrative bubbles underneath the surface and seems to start to spill whenever Real Madrid is mentioned. The latest knock bubbling up is that Chelsea “always” play better without Hazard. They use videos from Maurizio Sarri’s preseason to say “that beautiful play never happens with Hazard on the field!”.
It is ironic because many will point to Antonio Conte’s sack and the subsequent hiring of Sarri as a move to placate Hazard. Finally, some felt, Hazard would be able to play his game without fault.
But Sarri is not the type of manager to give his players freedom. Everything is rehearsed and when a player tries to do something off script, as Hazard often does, it shows. Conte was similar in his love of rehearsed moves, but he understood a player like Hazard was better at improv. Conte gave Hazard more freedom on and off the ball than any other Chelsea manager before or since. And that is where the misunderstanding lies.
Chelsea looks worse with Hazard on the pitch because he is not going to follow a bad script. Hazard is the type of player to write around. Sarri has struggled to get that concept as he tries to force Hazard into the routines.
Chelsea does not actually look worse with Hazard on the field though. He is having a career best season because he is breaking the scrip in a highly scripted setup. Opponents plan for certain routines and Hazard is not going to bend to that.
Really, this is all about trying to make Hazard a lesser player for wanting to leave. But Chelsea has not offered him enough reason to want to stay over going to Real Madrid. The board sacks managers left and right and refuses to spend on the successful ones as they allow stagnation. Twice Chelsea could have stepped up and gone from “Premier League success story” to “World success story” and twice they failed, blamed the manager, and went to the next guy.
If Hazard wants to go, he can go. It will prevent him from being a Chelsea legend, but it will not hurt the legacy he has already built. Chelsea is a better team with Hazard on the pitch no matter what anyone says. Chelsea fans should not attempt to spoil what he was in blue simply because he feels like it is time to wear white.