Big things were expected from the Belgium international playmaker when he arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Hazard has never come close to hitting Ronaldo’s heights
Eden Hazard “hasn’t got started” with Real Madrid and is unlikely to rediscover his spark in 2020-21, says the club’s former goalkeeper Mariano Garcia Remon. Big things were expected from the Belgium international playmaker when he arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu. The LaLiga giants, renowned for their elaborate spending on supposed Galacticos, poured €100 million worth of faith in Hazard when they pulled him away from Chelsea. The 29-year-old was supposed to help fill the void created by Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure to Juventus in 2018, but he never came close to hitting those heights. The fight for injuries has become a topic for Hazard, who performs another spell on the sidelines. Failure to establish momentum and consistency left the man who starred at Stamford Bridge stuck on one goal in 22 largely forgotten appearances.
The Belgian has a muscle injury
The hope is that Hazard will be able to return to the best in the current campaign once at full fitness, but Remon doubts the Belgian will become the player that Real Madrid believed he was. The man who helped Madrid to six LaLiga titles in his playing days told reporters: “Hazard is a big signing for Real Madrid and we all expected good performances from him. He did not start and did not have continuity due to injuries, which affected him. The way he started this year will be similar to last year.” Zinedine Zidane said Hazard is” very close” to coming back into the contention heading to meet Real Valladolid on Wednesday. However, another setback has been suffered from Real Madrid, unsure how long a sizeable monetary asset will be out of action.
“I can’t say how long it will be. Hazard picked up a bit of a knock in pre-game practice,” Zidane said at a press conference. “It looked like a muscle spasm, but in the end, it turned out to be a little more than that. It’s something muscular. It has nothing to do with the injury he received, and these things happen. He has been out for a long time. I don’t think it will be long, but I cannot tell you for sure.”