Eden Hazard’s Farewell Message to Chelsea Resurfaces Amidst Problems With Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti

• Eden Hazard's farewell message to Chelsea in 2019 has brought up an interesting dimension to the 'many' Chelsea vs Real Madrid games
• The two sides are set to face each other for the third time in Champions League knockout games since Hazard changed teams
• Unluckily for Hazard, he has never played a significant role for the Spanish giants in games against his former club

Eden Hazard's fall to grass remains one of the most painful stories in football. Moreso for Chelsea fans.

After a glittering seven-year spell in West London, Hazard decided to pursue one of his lifelong dreams; playing for Real Madrid. The prospect of doing so under one of his role models, Zinedine Zidane, made it even more interesting.

His last game in a Chelsea shirt came on May 29th 2019, when he starred in the Europa League final against Arsenal in Baku, Azerbaijan. Afterwards, he finalised his move to Real Madrid for a club-record fee.

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Hazard's farewell message

The Belgian penned an emotional farewell message to Chelsea faithful. The message has now resurfaced online after Real Madrid drew Chelsea for the third season running in the Champions League.

Part of the message read:

"Chelsea and Chelsea fans will always be special to me and next season, I will look for your results first. I hope that we are drawn against each other in the Champions League next season and every season after that."

Now, true to Hazard's wish, Chelsea have played Real Madrid every season, bar one, since he swapped teams.

To make this even more interesting, before Hazard's statement, Real Madrid and Chelsea had never faced each other in the Champions League knockout stages. Now they are set to play each other for the third time in four seasons.

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Hazard vs Chelsea

He first reunited with his former Chelsea teammates in the 2020/2021 season when a Thomas Tuchel side eliminated them at the semifinal stage en route to winning the trophy.

The Blues weren't, however as lucky last season despite a spirited second-leg performance in the quarterfinals. Real Madrid won the competition and thus Hazard claimed his first Champions League title.

The two are set to meet again this year after the Last 8 draw was conducted last week in Nyon. Chelsea's domestic season is in shambles, with the club grappling down in 10th place while Real Madrid are behind Barcelona in the La Liga race. Graham Potter could have preferred to play another team apart from the most successful club in the competition's history.

The Champions League presents Chelsea's best and only opportunity of playing in Europe next season. The first leg will be at the Bernabeu on April 12th.

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Rudiger reunion with Chelsea

At the same time, Sports Brief reported that Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger is chomping at the bit following his side's draw in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.

The hard-tackling centre-half made 203 appearances in five seasons during his stint with Chelsea before swapping London for Madrid last summer.