Eden Hazard has confirmed that Joe Cole was the man who persuaded him to join Chelsea, following the latter’s retirement from football.
The pair played alongside one another at Lille during the 2011/12 season, with Hazard moving to Stamford Bridge at the end of that campaign.
The Belgian has now confirmed on Chelsea’s Twitter account that Cole was the man who made the difference in his decision-making, talking up the club at every opportunity:
I spoke to him before I signed for Chelsea. Every day, seriously, he was telling me that Chelsea was the best club for me.
He said Chelsea was a big club where you can trophies every season. For that reason, I signed, so thank you, Joe Cole!
Cole hung up his boots on Tuesday, bringing an end to an illustrious career for club and country.
The 37-year-old scored 40 goals in 281 appearances for Chelsea between 2003 and 2010, as well as winning 56 caps for England.
Cole not only contributed a huge amount to the Blues’ success in that period – he won three Premier League titles – but convincing Hazard to move to Stamford Bridge has been a masterstroke.
Chelsea’s star man has matured into one of the best players in world football over the last six years and is already the front-runner for multiple end-of-season awards in 2018/19.
