Speaking to L’Equipe recently, Eden Hazard voiced his belief that José Mourinho’s decision to offload Kevin De Bruyne two winters ago was the wrong one. “Chelsea would have been stronger if we kept De Bruyne, he is a great player,” he said. “But Mourinho decided to let him go and not play him.”
“It was not my decision, even though I am certain that he could have thrived at Chelsea because he has tremendous qualities. Though I think at Chelsea you have more pressure than Wolfsburg.”
That is certainly true and it has shown; De Bruyne has been fantastic this season in Germany. The Belgian has netted nine times so far, while providing 16 assists to his teammates. De Bruyne may have an unbelievable amount of skill and potential, but he had a tough time breaking into Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea squad last season.
While Eden Hazard surely wishes that his Belgium teammate would have remained at Chelsea, the winger also looked on the bright side in regards to his compatriots move away from the English capital. “I would have loved to still play with him at Chelsea, but him getting first-team football is good for him – you can see what it’s done for Thibaut Courtois,” he explained. “It’s a shame he’s gone but he’ll surely have a successful career.”
