Get the FREE Mirror Football newsletter by email with the day's key headlines and transfer news Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Michael Ballack has warned Eden Hazard it would take “a few years” to get the perfect environment he has at Chelsea if he moved to Real Madrid.

Ballack suggested Hazard should do what he did and reject any overtures from the Spanish giants rather than give up the star man status he has worked hard to obtain at Stamford Bridge.

And former Chelsea midfielder Ballack believes “introvert” Hazard may also find it difficult adjusting to life among some of the super-sized egos at Madrid.

The European champions are ready to test Chelsea's resolve and Hazard's happiness at the club by launching a potential world record summer move that could break the £100m barrier.

Meanwhile Blues chiefs are planning to offer Hazard a new £300,000-a-week deal to persuade him to stay.

(Image: REUTERS/Darren Staples) (Image: REUTERS)



Ballack knows the dilemma Hazard could face having snubbed Madrid to join Bayern Munich in 2002 insisting "it's more fun to beat these superstars than it is to play with them.”

Ballack, speaking on behalf of BT Sport, said: “He did not have a good season last year and sometimes you don’t really know what happens to players but it seems to be that he’s a bit of an emotional player who needs support and needs to feel really comfortable with the coach and the team and in his private life as well, so that he can perform.

“I’m pretty sure if he moved to Real Madrid he would have to fight for that standing again and it would take time because he’s a bit of an introvert.

(Image: Getty)

“He’s not a player who talks a lot, and Real Madrid, if you see the players they have, it would be a different situation for him.

“At Chelsea he knows what he has, he’s the top player at the club, he lives in a fantastic city. To give that up, he has to decide if he wants that. He’s the key player at Chelsea for the next one or two years.

“He has to decide if he wants to give that up for Real Madrid or if he wants to be successful with Chelsea and go into the Champions League, on another level, and help them back to where they were in Europe.

(Image: Reuters)

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now



“They are talking about a lot of money. That’s surely also a factor for a player or a club.

“But if you speak about football facts, I think he’s in a position where he fights for a long time and he will not have the standing he has now at Chelsea at many clubs in Europe so he has to fight for that and that takes a few years again.”

Watch Chelsea v Manchester City live on BT Sport 1 on Wednesday 5th April from 7:15pm.

BT Sport is your home of unmissable football. For more info, visit btsport.com/football