The father of Chelsea star Eden Hazard has claimed that his son turned down the chance to extend his contract with the Premier League champions as he is eyeing up a move to Real Madrid next summer.
"What I can say about Eden is that he rejected a contract extension to give himself the chance to follow up on the interest in him from Real Madrid, where he can see himself playing," Thierry Hazard told 'Le Soir'.
The words of Hazard Sr have injected fresh life into the rumours of a move to the Bernabeu for the Belgian, with 'Los Blancos' boss Zinedine Zidane thought to be a big fan of the player.
Real have a long-standing interest in the winger and have considered a move on a number of occasions in the past.
The player himself has never hidden his love for the Spanish giants either, being quoted as saying: "Everyone knows the admiration I have for Real Madrid."
Thus far, Real president Florentino Perez has been unwilling to cede to Zidane's wishes to sign the former Lille man as he wanted to 'protect' the likes of Isco and Marco Asensio, assuring that they continue to get plenty of minutes on the pitch.
However, despite saying that there is interest from Real, Thierry Hazard was keen to point out that no discussions had yet been held.
"At this moment in time, there has been no contact with Real Madrid. Eden is just one part of the deal..." he explained.
With this parting statement, Hazard Sr very much put the ball in Real's court regarding a move, telling the Spanish side that his son is interested and inviting Real to make a summer swoop.