Why Man Utd lost out to Chelsea in race to sign Eden Hazard
Why Man Utd lost out to Chelsea in race to sign Eden Hazard
- Man Utd agreed deal to sign Eden Hazard from Lille in 2012
- Red Devils pulled out of transfer over requests from agent
- Chelsea swooped in but are subject of ongoing investigation
By 90min Staff | 9:00 PM GMT+1
Manchester United backed out of a 2012 deal to sign Eden Hazard due to demands from the player’s then agent for “secret” payments, a report has explained more than a decade later.
Hazard was Europe’s hottest summer transfer saga 13 years ago. The young Belgian had helped fire Lille to a French league and cup double in 2010/11 and was ready to take the next step in his career.
Tottenham Hotspur and nouveau-riche Manchester City were among the clubs tracking Hazard, as were Manchester United. The Old Trafford club, reaching the end of the Sir Alex Ferguson era, are believed to have agreed both a transfer fee with Lille and personal terms with the player.
But The Times has revealed things broke down when John Bico, who represented Hazard until 2014, “demanded a huge backhander”. He is alleged to have asked for £1m paid from United, plus “several million more direct from the owners”, which would have been kept off the club’s accounts.
United refused to engage in a “clear breach” of both Premier League and UEFA regulations.
There is no suggestion that Hazard himself had knowledge of the practices of his agent, who has also been extradited from UAE to face financial crime charges in Belgium in a separate case.
But where United didn’t take interest in Hazard further, even though the club had been keeping tabs on him since the age of 15, Chelsea eventually sealed the transfer that underpinned much of their on-field success for the next seven years. The Blues even managed to treble their investment when the player was sold to Real Madrid in 2019 for up to €146m.
However, the transfer – specifically any arrangements between Chelsea and Bico – is now the subject of an ongoing Premier League investigation. When Todd Boehly’s consortium assumed control from former owner Roman Abramovich in 2022, they reported the club to the Premier League and UEFA over alleged irregular payments connected to transfers that had been made under the old regime.
There are allegations that Abramovich paid £6m to Bico via an offshore company. Chelsea were also being investigated in 2023 for payments to offshore companies relating to the transfers of Samuel Eto’o, Willian and others around a similar time a decade ago.
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