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9 months ago
51 After choosing to leave Lille in 2012, former Chelsea player Eden Hazard disclosed that Manchester United was one of the teams he was thinking about joining.
Hazard joined Chelsea in a high-profile move back in 2012, while he was being chased by some of the biggest clubs in the world.
United were one of the teams tracking Hazard and were heavily linked with the Belgian attacker.
Sir Alex Ferguson, the Red Devils’ manager at the time, frequently traveled to France to watch the Belgian play and had conversations with him.
In the most recent episode of The Obi One Podcast, Hazard disclosed that his decision to sign with the Blues was mostly motivated by the possibility of playing in the Champions League following their victory in Europe’s biggest competition that season.
Chelsea famously won the Champions League title after beating Bayern Munich in 2012, while United lost the Premier League title on goal difference to Manchester City.
“I think the last year with Lille in France, I had all the managers trying to call me or my agent,” Hazard revealed.
“I had a chat with Sir Alex Ferguson. I spoke with Harry Redknapp, at that time he was the manager in Tottenham. I went to Manchester to see the Man City training ground, and I spoke with Mancini.
“I had like a few options but not Chelsea, because in my last year in Lille, Chelsea in the league were not that good. When they won the Champions League, in the Premier League, they were like 6th or 7th, I don’t remember.
“I knew I was leaving France for the Premier League, but not Chelsea because I wanted to play in the Champions League, and that move came because you won the Champions League, and then I felt maybe I would go to Chelsea because they would play in the Champions League next season. I went to southern France for holiday and that’s where I saw (Roman) Abrahamovic, and I was like ‘let’s go, that’s my club’.
“Chelsea was like far away, that’s why I say thank you to Drogba. That’s the reality. I was not thinking of going to Chelsea. I wanted to play in the Champions League, and Chelsea were not an option until the day they won the Champions League.”
With the Blues, Hazard played in the Premier League for seven seasons and won two league titles, an FA Cup, a Carabao Cup, and two UEFA Europa League medals.
The former attacker earned the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, PFA Young Player of the Year, and Premier League Player of the Season awards in addition to being chosen to the PFA Premier League Team of the Year four times.
United signed Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund that summer after losing out on signing Hazard.

