Eden Hazard's hopes of joining Real Madrid have reportedly been dealt a major blow following FIFA's decision to uphold a two-window transfer ban on Chelsea's senior side.
The football governing body announced on Wednesday that the Blues will be unable to add any new players to their squad until June 2020 after breaching the rules on the international transfer of minors.
Chelsea will lodge an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which may lead to the ban being overturned or, more likely, give them an additional few months to make signings before the ban kicks in.
Should the West London outfit be blocked from making any new signings this summer, however, AS reports that Hazard will not be granted his move to Madrid.
The report suggests that the big-money deal was effectively complete prior to FIFA's announcement, though Chelsea are now understandably more reluctant to offload their star man without bringing in a replacement first.
Christian Pulisic is due to arrive from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, but he will not be expected to replicate the same sort of attacking outlay as Hazard, who has 16 goals and 15 assists in the Premier League this term.
Daniel Lewis
