The Eden Hazard windfall Real Madrid will still pay Chelsea despite 2023 retirement

Chelsea are set to receive a financial windfall from Real Madrid thanks to the terms of their 2019 sale of Eden Hazard to the European giants.

That is despite the Belgian winger leaving Madrid last summer and actually retiring altogether.

Madrid agreed to a package worth up to £130m when Chelsea allowed Hazard to leave Stamford Bridge. As much as £88m of that figure was guaranteed, with another £42m to be paid as and when various add-ons were triggered – not all of which directly related to the player himself.

The Daily Telegraph has reported that, even though Hazard is no longer at the Bernabeu, Madrid reaching the Champions League final has triggered a £5m add-on that must be paid to Chelsea.

Hazard signed a five-year contract with Madrid in 2019, so the add-ons appear to be still be valid as that deal wasn't due to expire until the end of this season. The Belgian actually left the club by mutual consent last summer and chose to hang up his boots just a few months later.

Yet Madrid's continued success without him is still costing them.

There is little debate that Chelsea got the best of the 2019 transfer. The Blues had paid £32m for a 21-year-old Hazard in 2012 and reaped the rewards of 110 goals in 352 appearances, during which time the club won six trophies – including their two most recent Premier League titles.

They were then able to turn a huge profit on a 28-year-old player who quickly became one of the biggest transfer flops in modern football history because of persistent injuries.

For their vast investment, Madrid got just seven goals in 76 appearances over four seasons. By comparison, Hazard scored 21 goals across 52 games in his final year at Chelsea alone.

This summer, the 33-year-old will be returning to Stamford Bridge as part of the Soccer Aid World XI, alongside the likes of Roberto Carlos, Diamond from the Gladiators reboot and Tommy Fury.

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