Ross Barkley hopes that Eden Hazard can resist the lure of Real Madrid and commit his long-term future to Chelsea.
Speaking after the Blues 3-0 win over Southampton on Sunday, in which both the Belgian and Barkley scored and assisted, Hazard said: Real Madrid is the best club in the world. It is my dream since I was a kid. We will see.
Barkley, however, is desperate for the 27-year-old to pledge his future to Maurizio Sarri s side and continue to light up Stamford Bridge for years to come.
He s a magnificent player, Barkley told a media conference.
You can see how he has started the season and the World Cup that he had, you don t get many players like him. He s capable of magic at any moment.
It s important [he stays] because he s been at Chelsea for a long time. He s achieved so much. But I can t speak for Eden.
Brilliant result today. Delighted to get my first goal aswell. Now onto the internationals The hard work continues!!
— Ross Barkley (@RBarkley8)
He knows in his mind what he wants but I d love to play with him for many more years.
Like Hazard, Barkley has enjoyed a fine start to the season and has been rewarded with a call-up to England s squad for their upcoming Nations League games against Croatia and Spain.
Barkley has not played for the Three Lions since May 2016 and attributes his renaissance to a new-found maturity.
I m over the moon to be back, I feel like it s been a long time coming but I feel like I have worked hard over the last couple of years and that it s fully deserved that I am back here, he added.
I feel like I have matured as a person, understood what football is and taken little details on as I have done under the manager [Sarri]. Things are going really well for me now and I m fully focused on improving and kicking on.
