Published 20:11 IST, October 6th 2020
Eden Hazard would've joined Tottenham had Chelsea not won the UCL: Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp explained how Chelsea's UCL triumph and qualification led to Hazard preferring a move to Stamford Bridge over Tottenham in 2012.
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Harry Redknapp has revealed that he was set to sign two-time Premier League winner Eden Hazard for Tottenham Hotspur in 2012 but Belgian wizard opted to join Chelsea after ir historic Champions League triumph. Blues won ir first and only Champions League title in 2012, beating Bayern Munich on penalties in final in dramatic fashion and qualified for tournament next season as well despite finishing sixth in league. Redknapp believes Chelsea's triumph in Europe led to Hazard joining Blues despite fact Spurs were in pole position to sign former Lille superstar.
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Harry Redknapp reveals he was close to signing Eden Hazard at Tottenham
Earlier this week, Harry Redknapp spoke to Sky Sports about Tottenham's chances of winning league under Jose Mourinho. He said: "You need a bunch of great forward players to win league and Spurs have Bale, Kane and Son, so I definitely think y can do it this year." 73-year-old added that he had Bale in his Tottenham squad in 2012 and wanted Eden Hazard to link up with Welshman to give a Spurs a chance at ending ir drought for a league title.
Redknapp continued: "We had seen him (Eden Hazard) at Lille and he was our top target in summer. He wanted to play Champions League football and we had finished fourth, while Chelsea finished in sixth. But n, Chelsea won Champions League and took our spot in competition next season." Redknapp concluded by stating that if Chelsea hadn't won Champions League that year, he would have signed Eden Hazard at Spurs.
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Champions League final 2011-12: Chelsea beat Bayern on penalties
Blues won Champions League title in 2012 despite being heavy underdogs. Bayern took lead through Thomas Muller in 83rd minute before Didier Drogba equalized for Chelsea five minutes later. Arjen Robben failed to convert a spot-kick for Bayern in extra-time. game went into penalties and thanks to Petr Cech's heroics and Drogba's winning spot-kick, Chelsea won ir first Champions League title.
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Eden Hazard transfer to Chelsea and titles won at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea signed Eden Hazard in summer of 2012 from Lille in a £32m deal. During his six-year spell at Chelsea, Hazard helped west London club to two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and one League Cup before joining Real Madrid in summer of 2019.
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Im Credits - AP
20:11 IST, October 6th 2020