Roman Abramovich took huge gamble on unproven 21-year-old despite legendary Chelsea team, it was a genius idea

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Former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich did not play about following the Blues’ 2012 Champions League triumph.

Abramovich finally got his hands on the trophy that kept eluding him, and he wanted more. That was evident from the transfer window that was to follow.

The 58-year-old funded moves for Eden Hazard and Oscar, who were two of the most exciting young players in world football at the time.

Hazard went on to become one of the best footballers the English game has ever seen. Brentford duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa recently discussed Hazard, hailing him as the No.1 winger in Premier League history. There is no doubt, then, that Abramovich’s decision to buy Hazard was the correct one.

• READ MORE: Chelsea legend Eden Hazard’s impressive achievement six years ago has just been replicated by Mohamed Salah

Roman Abramovich’s Eden Hazard masterplan

Hazard was only 21 when he signed for Chelsea from Lille and joined a dressing room that boasted the likes of Frank Lampard, John Terry and Juan Mata.

Nevertheless, Abramovich had decided that Hazard would be the man to take a Chelsea team that had just won the Champions League forward.

According to an article from The Guardian in 2012, Abramovich wanted the side to be built around the winger despite him not being proven at the truly elite level yet.

He could have easily upset a dressing room with so many big players and personalities who may have questioned why such a young footballer was being catered to so much. After all, they had just won the biggest prize in European club football, not Hazard.

But as time went on and various Chelsea managers prioritised getting the best out of Hazard, the club’s decision to roll out the red carpet for the Belgian and leave it there became more and more justified.

By the time that Hazard had left Chelsea in 2019, he had helped the club to win two Premier League titles, two Europa League trophies, one FA Cup and one League Cup after scoring 110 goals for the Blues.

In terms of transfers, Hazard is one of the best bargains in Chelsea history. Abramovich set out to make Hazard the fulcrum of Chelsea’s team, and it proved to be a genius move.

Chelsea were desperate for Eden Hazard to stay

Unsurprisingly, Abramovich, nor anyone else at Chelsea, wanted Hazard to depart Stamford Bridge.

“Although it is with sadness we say goodbye to Eden and we made it absolutely clear to him the club wished him to stay, we respect the decision he has made to take on a new challenge in a different country and follow his childhood dream of playing for Real Madrid,” former director Marina Granovskaia said in a statement on Chelsea’s official website.

The retired Belgium international gave Chelsea fans the perfect farewell, however, putting Arsenal to the sword in the 2019 Europa League final after grabbing a brace at the Olympic Stadium.

Not only did Chelsea manage to win the trophy in Baku, but they also denied their London rivals the chance to play in the Champions League the following season.

At his best, Hazard was a top five player in the world, according to his former Belgium teammate Kevin De Bruyne. Abramovich and Chelsea supporters would definitely agree with that.