When Real Madrid president Florentino Perez was pushing his European Super League, one of the phrases he repeated several times was that unless something was done to save it, football would be 'dead' by 2024.
The year 2024 also happens to be when Eden Hazard is due to end the five-year, £25m-a-season contract he signed for Real Madrid when he left Chelsea in 2019.
The two things are not unrelated. Madrid's fear about falling off a financial cliff, and having to pay a player £78m gross over the next three years, when he is currently averaging around 20 games and two goals a season.