Eden Hazard, out of Real Madrid after four nightmare seasons
Real Madrid continues to accelerate with the renewal of its squad and the last to find the exit door has been Eden Hazard. The white club confirmed this Saturday the goodbye of the Belgian, one of the least used footballers by Carlo Ancelotti throughout the season. The end of the sad journey of a winger for whom the whites paid 115 million euros to Chelsea in 2019.
After the farewells of Marco Asensio and Mariano Díaz, announced between Friday and Saturday, Madrid issued a statement specifying the break with Hazard, who still had another year on his contract. However, the player's high record, around 30 million gross per season, and his poor performance on the pitch have precipitated events.
According to the letter made public late in the afternoon, Real Madrid has reached an agreement whereby the player “is separated from the club as of June 30”. Likewise, the entity chaired by Florentino Pérez expresses its “affection” to the Belgian international” and wishes “good luck to him and all his family in this new stage”.
Only two minor injuries
Ancelotti's lack of confidence, who in the summer thought of the Belgian as a potential replacement for Karim Benzema at the point of attack, was soon evident. Since October 25, when he played the final stretch of the Champions League match in Leipzig, he did not play until January 3, against Cacereño in the Copa del Rey. His residual role would also reach the League, where he did not appear again until April 2, during the defeat of Valladolid.
Unlike previous seasons, when injuries frustrated any attempt to continue, this year Hazard only had to regret a sprained ankle in January and some discomfort in the patellar tendon in his left knee, just a few weeks later.
His overall baggage, therefore, was reduced to one goal and two assists in 10 Champions League, League and Copa del Rey games, half of them as a starter. Among the first team players, only Jesús Vallejo, Álvaro Odriozola and Mariano Díaz played fewer minutes than him (392).
Waiting for Bellingham
With these data on the table and the patience of the coaching staff exhausted, the board needed an urgent solution for the highest-paid footballer in the locker room, whose salary doubled Vinicius's and tripled Rodrygo's.. Because since his arrival in 2019, Hazard has never shown the formidable level of his last months in London and his mere presence became an irritating factor at the Bernabéu itself.
The objective of cutting expenses -a pattern that became very clear a year ago with the departure of Gareth Bale- has been the priority for Madrid, which must now focus on the recruitment section, with the aim of deepening the rejuvenation of Template. In addition to the progress made with Dortmund for the signing of Jude Bellingham, it will be necessary to add alternatives in attack. For the moment, the only reinforcement remains Joselu, 33 years old and on loan from Espanyol.