Hazard could leave Real Madrid in January
FT Desk
- 4 Sept 2022 11:26 BST
- 3 min read
Eden Hazard has struggled to justify his €146.1 million price tag since swapping Chelsea for Real Madrid in 2019, and things don't look like they're about to get any better for the Belgium winger.
Hazard has only featured for 39 minutes of the current La Liga campaign, making it off the bench for cameo roles in victories over Almeria and Celta Vigo, and he was an unused substitute against Real Betis on Saturday.
Brazilian pair Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo were both on target in the 2-1 win that kept Real at the top of the La Liga standings, and Federico Valverde has also pulled ahead of Hazard in Real's first-team reckoning.
Eden Hazard completed his move to Chelsea on this day in 2012.
What was his best moment with the Blues?pic.twitter.com/X6bdLGomsL— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) June 4, 2022
Carlo Ancelotti was non-committal when asked about the futures of Hazard and fellow out-of-favour wide man Marco Asensio after the game.
"Difficult to answer," he responded. "I know I can count on them and that's enough. I don't know how many minutes they're going to play.
'No need for Hazard'
I made changes to put more energy into the game and then [Antonio] Rudiger to be stronger in the air. At 1-1 I put [Toni] Kroos and [Dani] Ceballos in to have more quality. With 2-1 we didn't need to bring in Hazard and Asensio."
With Real keeping tabs on Brazilian talent Endrick among others, Hazard's day in Madrid look to be numbered.
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He rejected a moves to Juventus, Newcastle and a return to Chelsea last January with his wife expecting their fifth child, but it appears los Blancos have finally run out of patience with their misfiring winger.
Hazard hasn't scored a league goal for Real since a 2-2 draw with Sevilla in May 2021. Football Transfers now rates Hazard at just €13m with its sophisticated inhouse algorithm - which is €8m less than brother Thorgan at Borussia Dortmund, and also a snip for a potential suitor.
