At last! Eden Hazard has found a pen! It was reported last week that the only thing keeping Hazard from signing a new contract was that Mourinho wanted to buy him a new pen to sign the deal! Whether or not Mourinho delivered on his promise remains to be seen, but the bigger goal has been accomplished. Eden Hazard, arguably our best player has signed a new contract at Chelsea FC. The deal will keep him at Chelsea for the next five and half years, and will see him earn a reported £200,000 a week. This new contract brings up several questions, mainly what does this deal mean for Chelsea? It also provides guidelines for determining Hazard’s market value. His new deal will see him earn £57 million over the entire length of this contract. Is he really worth that much?
Of course he is. Chelsea should be absolutely buzzing after completing a deal of this magnitude. First off, it makes Hazard almost untouchable for the next five and a half years. With him earning that much, it establishes Hazard’s transfer value as upwards of £100 million. For any club to tempt Chelsea to sell they would have to bid a lot more than both Bale and Ronaldo went for. This also establishes Hazard as Chelsea’s most expensive player, which should keep Hazard financially happy and eliminate the potential of Hazard getting tempted away by monetary incentives.
However, the true genius behind this new deal is the timing of the new contract. Hazard is currently 24 and getting better every time he steps onto the field. Conversely, the two widely accepted best players in the world, Ronaldo and Messi, are 30 and 27 respectively. In five and a half years time, Ronaldo’s career should be all but over based on the typical timeline of a footballer. Whatever his career status, it would be hard to imagine a world where Ronaldo is still considered a potential Ballon d’Or winner at 35. Messi will be 32 and if he stays healthy, he might have a year or two of good football left. However, Hazard will only be almost 30 and will still have plenty of quality football to offer. Many feel that he will be crowned the best in the world during his prime, and thanks to this new deal, Hazard will be wearing a Blue’s jersey during this period. Therefore, the timing of the new contract makes it even more valuable.
The last thing to consider is Hazard’s pedigree. Can Hazard justify £57 million over five and a half years? Yes. Considering his potential, we have signed Hazard for a bargain. It will give us the first option to offer Hazard even more money, should he grow into one of the world’s best as we all feel he will. In an attacking sense, Hazard has been one of the best wingers in the world. He has completed the most take-ons in Europe as well as being one of the most fouled. Hazard offers something different in attack for the Blues. Although fans often reference the link between Costa and Fabregas as a major factor in our goal scoring this season, Hazard offers one of the most individual goal scoring threats in the world. Chelsea’s strength this season has been highlighted by their ability to adapt in games and find ways to get results in different manners. His ability to beat defenders off the dribble is second to none. And he’s only going to get better. This makes him vital to Chelsea’s success this season and in the future. Finally, one must consider Hazard’s character. When one listens to people talk about Hazard as well as his own comments, one can see his true charismatic and leadership qualities. Mourinho is quoted saying “He is a fantastic player, the kid was always a good kid, easy to have him in the group, easy to like him, easy to feel loved by everyone, so the kid was never a problem.” With someone like Mourinho speaking so highly of Hazard, it is tough to question his character.
Overall, fans typically get excited to see incoming and outgoing players, myself included. Players such as Cuadrado, Schurrle and Salah were the most talked about during the January Transfer Window. While it is easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of the window, it is clear that the best bit of business conducted by Chelsea in the last month was absolutely the new Eden Hazard deal. Mourinho sums it up perfectly when he says “It’s normal to have speculation around him. But I think at this moment it’s end of story because nobody signs a five-year contract without being absolutely convinced of his happiness and his future, so good for him and, obviously, very good for the club.” There is no telling what Hazard will achieve in the next five and half years, but now, Chelsea fans will have front row seats.
