Eden Hazard reveals the Premier League club he almost joined instead of Chelsea

One of Chelsea's legends, Eden Hazard has been in the news for different reasons since he announced his retirement from the beautiful game of football.

The Belgian international made a shocking revelation about the club he would have joined when he left Ligue 1 side, Lille in 2012. Eden Hazard was speaking in a podcast with his former teammate at Chelsea, John Obi Mikel where he confirmed that he was close to joining other top Premier League clubs before he chose to join the Blues.

He said,

"I had a chat with Sir Alex Ferguson, I spoke with Harry Redknapp that time he was the manager in Tottenham. I went to Manchester to see Man City training ground. I had a few options, but not Chelsea. The last year in Lille, Chelsea was not that good in the league. I wanted to play Champions League. That move came because you won the Champions League. Chelsea was like far away [otherwise].

He is one of the four players in Premier League history to score more than 15 goals and provide more than 15 assists in a single season. Only Thierry Henry (24 goals, 20 assists, 2003/24), Matt Le Tissier (19 goals, 15 assists, 1994/95 and Eric Cantona (15 goals and 16 assists in the 1992/23 season.

Hazard is a two-time Premier League and UEFA Europa League winner with Chelsea, where he was also recognised as the talisman at the club. with over 105 goals in 352 appearances for the Blues, the Belgian also received numerous personal awards for his outstanding attributes on the pitch. He won the Premier League Player of the Year, PFA Players' Player of the Year and many more at the club.