Eden Hazard said he only wants to stay at Chelsea beyond this summer if the club is in a position to improve on last season.
Chelsea disappointed despite winning the FA Cup last season, finishing fifth in the Premier League, and are yet to sign any new players or settle their managerial situation despite both Hazard and Thibaut Courtois publicly challenging the club to show ambition this summer before deciding their futures.
“If I stay, it’s for the team to be better than it was than in the season we have just gone through,” Hazard told L’Equipe. “I don’t want to stay for it to be worse. I have won everything in London other than the Champions League. If I’m in this position in my career, it’s thanks to Chelsea.
“It would be too easy to say I want to leave because I’ve done everything here. That’s why, above all else, I would like to know what will happen at the club next year. I am waiting to see if the coach stays or leaves.”
Antonio Conte is refusing to walk away from the money he is owed in the final year of his contract, reportedly around £9 million, while Chelsea have been unwilling to pay the compensation required to prise Maurizio Sarri from Napoli to replace Conte at Stamford Bridge.
Hazard, who will captain Belgium at the World Cup, is the subject of long-standing interest from Real Madrid, and he said he is not prepared to stick around if Roman Abramovich allows the team to decline.
“Real Madrid could interest me, everyone knows that,” he said. “But if tomorrow that club doesn’t want me anymore, we won’t talk about it again. If they want to buy me, they know what they have to do.
“Going there for going there’s sake, no. There has to be a project. I still have a project with Chelsea. If I have a good World Cup, things will be easier.”
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