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Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has explained why midfielder Eden Hazard struggled at the club. The Belgian left the Santiago Bernabeu last summer and retired a few months later.
Hazard arrived with great fanfare from Chelsea in the summer of 2019 but struggled to have the same impact at the Bernabeu. Beset by injuries and a loss of form and confidence, the former Belgium international was a pale shadow of his illustrious self at the Spanish capital club.
Ancelotti - who managed Hazard for two seasons after arriving for his second Madrid stint in the summer of 2021 - said that the Belgian struggled with injuries and lacked the intensity in training (as per Obione podcast via Madrid Xtra):
“Eden Hazard is a fantastic guy. His problem was injuries of course, but he also had difficulty to be in competition. You have to train with intensity in training when you are not playing. He had difficulties to compete, to fight and to play.”
The Italian boss enjoyed a hugely successful 2023-24 season, leading Los Blancos to three titles, including their second La Liga-UEFA Champions League double in three years.
It also made him the first coach to win the Champions League twice with multiple clubs, having also achieved the feat with AC Milan in the 2000s.
How Eden Hazard fared at Real Madrid
Eden Hazard - as mentioned above - endured an injury-plagued four seasons at Real Madrid. In 76 games across competitions, he only contributed seven goals and 12 assists.
His most prolific season at the Santiago Bernabeu was the 2020-21 campaign when Hazard struck four goals and provided an assist in 21 games across competitions. Four of those goal contributions - three goals and an assist in 14 games - came in La Liga.
However, his overall Madrid numbers were hugely underwhelming to what he registered in seven seasons at Chelsea: 110 goals and 85 assists in 352 games across competitions. Hazard won two Premier League titles and the UEFA Europa League with the Blues.
He would win two more league titles and a UEFA Champions League with Los Blancos, but his contribution was minimal in all the competitions.
