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 the Belgian wizard opted to join Chelsea after their historic Champions League triumph. The Blues won their first and only Champions League title in 2012, beating Bayern Munich on penalties in the final in dramatic fashion and qualified for the tournament next season as well despite finishing sixth in the league. Redknapp believes Chelsea's triumph in Europe led to Hazard joining the Blues despite the fact Spurs were in pole position to sign the 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 the league under Jose Mourinho. He said: "You need a bunch of great forward players to win the league and Spurs have Bale, Kane and Son, so I definitely think they can do it this year." The 73-year-old added that he had Bale in his Tottenham squad in 2012 and wanted Eden Hazard to link up with the Welshman to give a Spurs a chance at ending their drought for a league title.
Harry Redknapp: “I lost Eden Hazard, he wanted to come to Tottenham but he said I would only come if you get Champions League Football, we finished 4th that year, Chelsea finished 6th, they won the Champions League & we didn’t make it. He ended up going to Chelsea. [Sky] #CFC
— CFCDaily (@CFCDaily) October 5, 2020
Redknapp continued: "We had seen him (Eden Hazard) at Lille and he was our top target in the summer. He wanted to play Champions League football and we had finished fourth, while Chelsea finished in sixth. But then, Chelsea won the Champions League and took our spot in the competition next season." Redknapp concluded by stating that if Chelsea hadn't won the Champions League that year, he would have signed Eden Hazard at Spurs.
Champions League final 2011-12: Chelsea beat Bayern on penalties
The Blues won the Champions League title in 2012 despite being heavy underdogs. Bayern took the lead through Thomas Muller in the 83rd minute before Didier Drogba equalized for Chelsea five minutes later. Arjen Robben failed to convert a spot-kick for Bayern in extra-time. The game went into penalties and thanks to Petr Cech's heroics and Drogba's winning spot-kick, Chelsea won their first Champions League title.
Eden Hazard transfer to Chelsea and titles won at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea signed Eden Hazard in the summer of 2012 from Lille in a £32m deal. During his six-year spell at Chelsea, Hazard helped the west London club to two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and one League Cup before joining Real Madrid in the summer of 2019.
Image Credits - AP
20:11 IST, October 6th 2020