Mourinho’s Patience on Hazard Wears Thin as PSG Keep Tabs
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is understood to have given his star player Eden Hazard an ultimatum – improve his performance on the pitch or be forced to leave the club.
Hazard’s blistering start to the season, which saw him score seven goals and six assists in the first half of the campaign before 2013 ended, looked to have slowed dramatically in recent weeks, and his boss is definitely not happy about it.
True enough, Hazard’s usual mercurial stride on the pitch was missing when the Blues conceded shock losses against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace in March, denting Chelsea’s hopes of a Premier League title win this season.
As a result, Hazard has been dropped his club’s last three league matches. Furthermore, Mourinho has been very vocal in the public about his criticism of the player.
In Mourinho’s talk with The Telegraph recently, the Portuguese tactician said: “I think he was our best player for months, from August to November or December. He was absolutely fantastic. And after that he was up and down.
“He arrived in the crucial moment of the season in a down. Injuries, couldn’t train, was trying to arrive to the game but didn’t, was a doubt for the game, the game was too big to play with a doubtful player, so he arrived in the crucial moment of the season in a low,” Mourinho added.
The alleged bust-up has apparently sparked something at the Parc des Princes, with Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-German now in pole position to buy the playmaker come the summer.
Indeed, according to French daily L’Equipe, PSG are prepared to give Hazard a new home in France to the tune of £50m, something Chelsea will find hard to resist considering their own plans to purchase enigmatic striker Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid.
Hazard has just joined Chelsea two years ago, after enjoying a five-year stint with French side Lille. Hazard’s contract is set to run until 2017.