Conte appointment could dissuade Hazard from Real move

There’s no denying Julen Lopetegui is going through a horrible year in his career. He was sacked as the Spanish national team manager a few days before the World Cup in Russia because of Real’s announcement of his appointment to replace Zinedine Zidane, and now he’s staring the same fate in the eyes at Madrid.

Former Italy, Juventus and Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has been named among the favorites for the job, should Lopetegui be finally put out of his misery. However, another Chelsea name that has been linked with Real is Eden Hazard, who played two seasons under Conte at Stamford Bridge, winning the 2016/17 Premier League title and the 2017/18 FA Cup in that time.

However, the relationship between the Belgian forward and the Italian manger has reportedly broken down towards the end of last season, and while Real consider Conte’s impressive CV more than enough for him to get the job, president Florentino Perez’s plan for Hazard to replace Cristiano Ronaldo would potentially be scrapped, according to Sport.