Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has said that he has no regrets about missing out on signing Chelsea star Eden Hazard…because he wasn’t even close to bringing him on board anyway, The Sun reports.
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Wenger spotted Hazard as a standout talent more than five years ago as he was just starting to make a name for himself with French side Lille.
However, instead of joining the race to land his signature, Wenger turned around and dropped out as soon as a series of major clubs from all across Europe began scrambling for his signature.
Lille were ready to cash in on their star prize, but Wenger admits he was unable to afford him as soon as his value started skyrocketing beyond what the Gunners could afford.
Hazard eventually linked up with the Blues for a fee of £32million in the summer of 2012, on wages of £150,000-per-week.
“I have no big regrets about Hazard because there was so much money involved and at the time we could not afford it,” Wenger said.
“It was simply not feasible financially for us.
“Our transfer dealings that summer were linked with all the environment and we could not honestly defend spending so much on one player.”
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