La Liga champions Barcelona have pulled out of the race to sign Eden Hazard after the club deemed the transfer to be 'unviable' this summer, according to reports.
Speculation of Hazard's future at Chelsea has been at a record high ahead of the new campaign, with the Belgium international most recently being linked with a move to Real Madrid following the announcement of Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Italian giants Juventus.
But Barcelona will not attempt to sign Hazard this summer, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, after they brought former Liverpool talisman Philippe Coutinho to the Camp Nou in January.
The Blaugrana have also been made aware of an agreement between Maurizio Sarri and owner Roman Abramovich ahead of the Italian manager's rumoured move to Stamford Bridge, where he will succeed their title-winning coach Antonio Conte.
Eden Hazard dropped 0 bad performances this World Cup. Not one bad game. All either good to excellent. If there’s one guy that didn’t deserve to go out of the World Cup, it’s him.
— Xav Salazar (@XavsFutbol) July 10, 2018
The S.S.C. Napoli boss, who has been replaced by Carlo Ancelotti at the Stadio San Paolo, has demanded that Hazard remains at the club next season. Sarri has also requested that Willian, a target for both Barcelona and Manchester United, is also off limits during the summer transfer window.
Chelsea are yet to make any signings ahead of the new campaign, although rumours have broken that the west London outfit have reached a £40m agreement with Juventus over the signing of defender Daniele Rugani.
Fans at Stamford Bridge are desperate to see new players arrive at the club as they prepare to challenge for the Premier League title next season. However, the club's first priority is reaching an agreement with Conte's successor.