Zinedine Zidane expressed his admiration for Eden Hazard on Friday ahead of an expected move for the Chelsea forward from Real Madrid this summer. Hazard's contract expires in June 2020 and he is yet to sign a new deal, leaving Chelsea in a difficult position if they want to avoid losing the Belgian for free.

After last year's World Cup, he admitted "it might be time for something different" while in October, he said it would be a "dream" to play for Real Madrid, "the best club in the world". Asked about Hazard at a press conference before Madrid's La Liga game against Eibar on Saturday, Zidane said: "He is a player I have always rated, as everyone knows. "He is a player that has played in France, that I have watched a lot and that I know personally. There's nothing new about what I think of him as a player. He's a fantastic player."