‘A Shadow Of His Former Self’: The Story of The Sad And Sudden Decline Of Eden Hazard at Real Madrid

Short, sharp and stellar: Eden Hazard embodied the fan’s favourite footballer for years at Chelsea. His 2017–2018 season, marked by twelve goals and four assists in thirty-four games, remains a memorable year for his fans, five years later. Eden Hazard seemed set-up for greatness, performing well at the end of the season at the 2018 World Cup with the ‘Red Devils’, as Belgium was only eliminated by the eventual winners, France. There were very few players above Eden Hazard, and it seemed as if he would have continued on his splendid form. A year later, Real Madrid broke the bank and purchased the Chelsea star for a staggering 100M€, it all seemed set. But what was thought to be a dream move became a living nightmare…

At Real Madrid, under Zinédine Zidane, Eden Hazard seemed perfect. A natural leader for Chelsea as the main playmaker, his timing couldn’t have been more perfect, as Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo left for Juventus a year earlier. Benzema’s role grew in the team, but the forward line was also dealing with just-purchased Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo, two young unpolished young wingers from Brazil. On the contrary, Eden Hazard had been creating and scoring opportunities for Chelsea for years. Experienced but humble, there was no better timing.