Chelsea is at such a crisis point that it must choose between its star player and its manager
Chelsea’s loss against Leicester City has brought the club to a new crisis point. The embattled club must make a difficult choice. It must choose between its most talented player Eden Hazard and their title winning manager Jose Mourinho.
The defending Premier League champs have been heading towards this stand-off for quite some time. Mourinho has publicly criticized Hazard several times during his tenure as the Chelsea boss and it was difficult to see the partnership working out long term as a result. As long as Chelsea was winning matches at a title-winning clip things between Mourinho and Hazard were going to be fine. However, wise observers knew that if Chelsea’s form ever faltered the tension between the two was going to rear its ugly head.
Things have been going poorly for Chelsea all season, but the loss to Leicester City might have been the breaking point. Hazard picked up a knock in the first half and left the pitch without saying a word to his manager. After the match, Mourinho responded to the incident in his usual curt manner. He didn’t say much about Hazard’s injury other than remarking that he made the decision to come off in an extremely short amount of time. His few words said it all though.
More from Playing for 90
- Alexia Putellas reaches 400 games with Barcelona
- Everything you need to know ahead of the 250th ‘Super Clásico’
- Barcelona put five past Real Betis
- Manchester City suffer but come away with win over West Ham
- Baffling Liga MX ruling strips Puebla of a hard-earned victory
Hazard and Mourinho cannot continue to coexist at the same club. There’s just no chance that Mourinho can get the most out of his star after all that’s occurred between the two. Mourinho can’t reasonably be expected to invest himself fully in a group of players that he feels “betrayed” him. In the same vein, Hazard can’t be expected to give his all for a manager who has repeatedly questioned his heart and desire in the press.
Make no mistake about it, Chelsea needs its players to be fully committed to the club if they are going to dig their way out of the hole they’re in. They are in legitimate danger of being relegated if they can’t turn things around soon. Just as winning is contagious, losing is infectious. Right now the spirit of losing is running through the Chelsea roster like a plague.
Only one man can make the necessary choice between Hazard and Mourinho. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is the only man who can make separate the two for the betterment of his club. Only he can remove the cancerous relationship from Chelsea.
For what it’s worth, the choice between the two seems rather easy. There are quite a few talented managers who can win at Chelsea, and Hazard might be one of the ten best players in the world. Conflicts like this almost always go the way of the talented player for good reason. Truly special players are more difficult to replace than world-class managers.
Chelsea may have finally hit rock bottom with their loss to Leicester. If they plan to rise up again they must choose between two of their club’s icons in player Eden Hazard and manager Jose Mourinho.