Friday, 14th February, 2014
Former Lille coach Rudi Garcia has revealed he fended off a triple-salary offer from Chelsea for Eden Hazard in 2011.
Hazard led Lille to the Ligue 1 title in the 2010/11 season, and was immediately propelled towards international attention.
mobile ad
And Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is now understood to have attempted a move at the time, as Garcia revealed in his autobiography.
Garcia, now in charge at Roma, claims then-Chelsea forward Didier Drogba initiated a phone call to Ivory Coast team-mate Gervinho, which culminated in Abramovich speaking directly with Hazard.
relatedNewsStory
The conversation is alleged to have taken place in the Lille dressing room.
Garcia's written words, reproduced by Voetbal Primeur, quote Abramovich as having said: "I do not know how much you earn, but I will triple your salary."
Lille then proceeded to tie Hazard down to a contract extension, though it went in vain as the Belgian ended up at Chelsea in the summer of 2012.
Don't bet on football until you've visited Inside Bet! Interesting markets, top tips, betting facts – get all the info before you bet.
