Thibault Courtois has conceded that he and Eden Hazard discussed the possibility of moving to Real Madrid while still at Chelsea.
The Belgian moved to Spain in 2018 with the winger joining Real Madrid last summer, and the former has revealed that it was a deal both had in mind for a long time.
Indeed, so keen were the duo to move join Zinedine Zidane’s team, they would speak about the prospect while in Chelsea locker rooms.
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“In the Chelsea dressing room, we spoke about the possibility of playing here,” Courtois told El Mundo. “’The White House, the White House…,’ we said. It was nice to speculate about it.
“Now, we are very eager to win trophies.”
Though, Neither has proven to be a hit since moving to Spain, with Courtois’ position in goal uncertain after a period of mediocre form left supporters questioning whether the club was right to offload Keylor Navas to Paris Saint-Germain.
But, stronger performance this campaign has seen him established as the first-choice goalkeeper.
Hazard, meanwhile, has struggled to live up to expectation after a bumper £150 million move. The Belgian forward has been affected by injury problems but is set to be fit to return to action after undergoing surgery in February.
Speaking to Cadena SER last week, former Wigan Athletic boss Roberto Martinez said: “He can totally win the Ballon d’Or with Real Madrid, without a doubt.
“Sometimes it takes a difficult start at your new club to give everything you have inside and understand what it means to play in a great club like Real Madrid.
“Eden does not miss games, he lost 18 games with Chelsea in eight years and this has been circumstantial. The game that was injured against Paris Saint-Germain we already saw Eden with a lot of joy in his football with a great connection with his team-mates.
“I think Real Madrid fans are confident that he will bring many successes.”
