Eden Hazard: “Then came Real Madrid, it went wrong and that was it”

Moody career review

“I was sad for the real fans. When I arrived they were full of hope. I have a bit of a feeling that I let them down,” says Eden Hazard (33), looking back on his 115 million euro transfer from Chelsea to Real Madrid. The Belgian, who became one of the best footballers in the world in seven years with the Blues, said in a moody interview with “France Football“ talked about his career and gave insights into his emotional world.

“For me, football was always the same: have fun, have fun, have fun, have fun, have fun,” said Hazard, who had a market value of 150 million euros at his peak in 2018 and 2019. “At one time no one could take the ball away from me. I remember a duel with van Dijk, the ball didn’t move. I had so much confidence. Usually there was either a foul or the defender fell. Genetically I was lucky to have thick thighs and a big butt, so that helped me too much. Look at Vini, what thighs he has, you can’t take the ball away from him.”

At Chelsea he rarely impressed in training, he wasn’t the most fit, but he was usually the best on the field. “If you’re good on the field, you do what you want. I started from this principle. I managed myself. I didn’t go to the gym every third day, I didn’t do three hours of physical therapy to recover. But I made the difference.” According to Hazard, there was a good reason why it wasn’t always 100 percent in training. “Okay, I was a slacker. But I gave so much and conceded so much in the games that I couldn’t bear to go all out and take hits all week long. My body wouldn’t have lasted fifteen years, but only three.”

Diets suck, they don’t help.

In 2008 he was promoted to the professional squad at LOSC Lille, where he played for four years before moving to Stamford Bridge for 35 million euros at the age of 21. Hazard had 15 years of professional football at the highest level, even though he didn’t follow the rules. “Going into the cold tub for an hour after a game, no. Leave me in peace. With my friends we go to my house, play cards, drink a beer. I play with my sons in the garden for two hours. That was my recovery. If I had been like Cristiano – that’s the example, there are others – I would have burned out.”

Eden Hazard: “Then Real came, it went wrong and that was it”

During his time at Chelsea he played 352 games, scored 110 goals and assisted 92 times – Hazard was largely spared any major injuries. He enjoyed playing, enjoyed being the center of attention, enjoyed being the best and didn’t enjoy dieting at all. “I didn’t attach any importance to it. I’m a bon vivant, I like to go out to eat, we have a drink with friends. (…) Diets are shit, they don’t help. I mean, it’s good if you want to play until you’re 40. I knew that wasn’t the case for me.”

The Royals paid 115 million euros for a then 28-year-old player at the peak of his career, even though Hazard was only under contract with Chelsea for twelve months. After the signing, things could hardly have gone worse. “I have just finished a sick season with Chelsea, one of the best of my career. I thought: ‘Now I’m at Real, this might be the last holiday I’ll take…’. And I let myself go, like I did every summer. Seven years in England, without a Christmas break, giving it my all, so when I have three or four weeks’ holiday, it was about not breaking my feet, barbecue, rosé, all that. And that’s what allowed me to be set to zero to restart. Then came Real, it went wrong and that was it.”

Eden Hazard at the presentation as the most expensive transfer in the club’s history in 2019

At the biggest club in the world, Hazard became the most expensive signing in the club’s history and one of the biggest flops. For the first time in his career, his body stopped working. “My body is making me pay for all the years of starting early, sacrificing myself and almost never stopping, for all the hits I took. Not because I ate this or that. I tell myself, I can’t prove it. Those who know everything will say, ‘That’s because he wasn’t paying attention.’ I accept that, everyone has their own opinion. At Real I had one injury after another. Sometimes I didn’t even know how or why. You wake up, get out of bed and hurt yourself. Give it a rest! My body is tired, it can’t take it anymore. He needs to rest, but he can’t.”

Hazard only made 75 appearances in four years, during which he was largely injured, never made the team and scored just seven goals. “At Real I had the feeling that I would lose the ball before I had it,” says Hazard, describing his form in Madrid. He would like to say to the fans afterwards: “Hey, it’s not my fault, my body failed me. I tried it, it didn’t work. I’m sorry”. According to his own statement, Real Madrid didn’t really suit him in terms of style or style of play, “but it was my dream. I couldn’t end my career without getting there.”

At times, the sports magazines in Spain were only concerned with Hazard’s high salary, the high transfer fee and the many injuries – the Belgian has been unable to provide any arguments on the pitch for a long time in 2021. “One morning I wake up and I have this lump (he points to a small cup) on my ankle. An infection occurs. I’m having another operation, which is what I wanted and asked for. Two years left on the contract, I said to myself: ‘Come on, try to move’. I lost my place, then confidence, then desire. I went from being a big guy going up against guys who were trying to rip my knee up to getting out of bed and hurt. I would have liked to find out why, but I couldn’t.”

Hazard’s last appearance as a professional was on May 13, 2023 in a 1-0 win against Getafe FC, and he scored his last goal on September 6, 2022 in a 3-0 win against Celtic Glasgow. The 1.75 meter tall high-class technician experienced the end of a great career that was not blessed with a successful final chapter on the bench at the Bernabeu. He was grateful to Carlo Ancelotti that he didn’t send him back onto the pitch to possibly be sent off with whistles.

“In the best of all worlds, I would go far away in the mountains, self-sufficient, with sheep, even though I’m not a shepherd. Or a kind of trip around the world with the children in a motorhome. Still, I enjoyed being in the spotlight, being the best on a team, that was great, but I didn’t need it. I won’t miss it. I liked professional football, but I don’t want to go back. 100 percent safe.”

To home page