Paris Saint-Germain owner Al-Khelaifi plays down Hazard interest

The Ligue 1 club's president insists he declined the chance to negotiate for the winger during his time at Lille and has admitted that there is no move in the offing for Paul Pogba

Paris Saint-Germain owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi has played down reports of a potential move for Chelsea starEden Hazard.

The mega-rich Ligue 1 club have been linked with the 23-year-old during the January transfer windowalthough Hazard spoke out earlier in the month to distance himself from a Chelsea exit.

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The former Lille winger has taken the Premier League by storm during the 2013-14 campaign, leading to Jose Mourinho suggesting he could be a contender for the Ballon d'Or, and Al-Khelaifi insists there has never been contact with the player.

"Hazard is a fantastic player," he told L'Equipe. "The best at Chelsea for me. But we never talked with him. In 2012,before he left for England, we had the opportunity torecruit him but we did not.

"Chelsea were very advanced in negotiations and as we do not want to have bad relations with other clubs, it stopped there. He looks happy at Chelsea."

PSG have also been touted to make a move for former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, although Al-Kehlaifi was similarly cautious and insisted the club would speak to Juventus if and when they are preparing to launch a bid.

He continued: "As for Pogba, he is one of those great French players we watch. But when we are really interested, we'll talk to Juventus."