Five years on from his move from England to Spain, without a league appearance since September, what is next for Eden Hazard?
Eden Hazard is a classic story of a wonder kid who found it all. He enjoyed success in a strong Lille side that included the likes of Joe Cole, Dimitri Payet, Idrissa Gana Gueye, and Lucas Digne. He enjoyed lifting a League title, a French cup, and two player of the season awards while at Lille.
Off the back of their first Champions League win ever, Chelsea spent around 35 million dollars on the Belgian winger. From the moment he stepped foot onto the pitch at Stamford Bridge, Eden Hazard was nothing but amazing.
Over the next seven years, he would play for the Blues 352 times, scoring 110 goals and assisting a further 92. His time in England brought two Europa League titles, two Premier Leagues, an FA cup, and a League Cup. He was also awarded the Player of the Year award in 2015 both for Chelsea and the Premier League.
Hazard was integral to any success enjoyed in West London, and is still widely regarded as one of the greatest Premier League players of all time. After the 2018 World Cup followed by one final season of brilliance, he would finally get the move of his dreams.
In the summer of 2019, Real Madrid spent over 115 million dollars to secure Hazard’s services. Seen as the galactico signing to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, he was given the number 7 shirt and expectations were high.
In a complete reverse of his time at Chelsea, from the moment Hazard stepped foot in Madrid, it seemed nothing would go right for him. Reports say that he turned up in Madrid out of shape and overweight, and before the season even kicked off he picked up his first injury.
In seven years at Chelsea, Hazard missed a total of 17 games due to injury. He missed just over 20 games in his first season alone for Real Madrid.
Continuous injuries to his ankle would see him struggle to find any real form and eventually lead to surgery. Unfortunately for the Belgian national team captain, things wouldn’t get any better.
Over the course of the next few years, he would continue to suffer from muscle injuries and constantly see himself on the bench, or even out of the squad entirely. Even in the moments that he was injury free, he would still struggle to make a real impact that would disrupt the starting eleven and give him a chance over the shining Vinicius Jr.
He played 23 times for ‘Los Blancos’ in the 21/22 season, but once again returned at the start of the season injured, and missed a further 15 games throughout the campaign. To date Hazard has only played seven games this season, the last of which being a Copa Del Rey match in January against a 4th tier opponent.
Reports from Madrid this week are saying that Hazard has been training with the youth team(Madrid Castilla) and not impressing. The reports say that he doesn’t seem fully fit and can’t even win 1v1 challenges against the youth squad.
Carlo Ancelotti has answered many questions in the past few weeks about Eden Hazard, and it seems to be the same answer each time. Hazard just isn’t good enough to be playing for Real Madrid anymore. There is extreme competition in his position and he just isn’t impressive enough. Ancelotti and Hazard have also both admitted that they barely have a speaking relationship, but they still have respect for each other.
Real Madrid has explored options in the past to sell or even loan the Belgian out, gaining interest from Newcastle United and even Chelsea. With every game that Hazard doesn’t play, the interest in him drops and it becomes harder to find an option outside of Madrid.
It seems Hazard has found himself in a similar position to the recently retired Gareth Bale. Madrid no longer wants him, but he wants to be in Madrid. Hazard’s family lives in Madrid and he has stated that he would rather not move as he likes it where he is.
Unfortunately this could mean, just like with Bale, one of the greatest players of the last 15 years will see out the remainder of his playing days at one of Europe’s top teams as dead weight.
Read more soccer news from TGH here
Read more TGH sports and e-sports news here
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
