Hazard’s time at Real Madrid has certainly been difficult and has often put him, his teammates and the club in difficult situations. The media has of course used this to put even more pressure on them and different rumors have spread. One of them is the idea that Hazard may return to Chelsea this summer after the European Championship ends. Hazard himself has told that he has no intention to leave but for the public it seems like that is not enough. Fortunately, in this experience at Real Madrid, Hazard has always had the club and the teammates on his side. Thibaut Courtois, who is his teammate at Belgium National team and has also been his teammate at Chelsea, knows Eden very well and has come up to ensure every one that Hazard will try his best to become a key player at Real and that he has no intention to leave.
Thibaut Courtois says he is ‘100 per cent sure’ that Eden Hazard will stay at Real Madrid and won’t re-join Chelsea this summer. Hazard has struggled to make an impact since swapping Chelsea for Madrid in a £130 million deal in 2019. Last month, reports in Spain claimed that the Belgium international is keen to leave the Santiago Bernabeu this summer and a return to Chelsea is his preferred option. Madrid are also understood to be open to selling Hazard in order to bolster their attack with the signings of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. Earlier, Hazard declared that he is intent on remaining at Madrid and Courtois also believes his Belgium teammate will not move clubs.
Courtois spoke for Le Soir: “I’m 100% sure he’s staying. He doesn’t want to move. Only the Madrid press writes about the desire to leave. He wants to continue, play free of injuries and win titles. At Real Madrid there is criticism all the time and for everyone. Gareth Bale was criticized, but he won the Champions League and scored a double in the final in Kyiv. We all know that in Madrid there is pressure and criticism from the press and the fans. But Eden can handle that. I know him well enough to say it. He can still change everything. He still wants to be an important player for Madrid and win titles”.
Thibaut Courtois has also detailed what Real Madrid teammate Eden Hazard needs to get back to the top of his game. He said: “I see him in training and he trains very well. He is very close to his best form,” said Courtois during a press conference, as covered by Mundo Deportivo. The recent months in Madrid have not been easy for him. He trained well but then suffered very bad injuries. Mentally, he is strong. He has to get rhythm, to play minutes.”
Hazard has been unlucky with injuries since his €115m move from Chelsea in 2019, making just 30 La Liga appearances and scoring only four goals. Given the price tag Los Blancos paid, there is growing pressure on Hazard to stay fit and perform after another troubling season with injuries, though there were signs of hope towards the end of last season.
The Belgian managed to feature in five of Real Madrid’s last six games and he has gone into this summer’s Euro 2020 with a little wind in his sails. The 30-year-old wasn’t risked as a starter in Belgium’s first two games, but he did get a start in the Red Devils’ 2-0 win over Finland in their last group stage clash. And he is of course a contender to start again in Belgium’s Euro 2020 Round of 16 clash with Portugal. Ahead of that game, Hazard’s club and national teammate Courtois has spoken about him, detailing how unfortunate the winger has been and what he needs to get back to his best.
Besides Hazard, the goalkeeper also found the time to speak about the campaign which left Real Madrid trophyless, with his former club lifting the LaLiga Santander trophy. He added: "In the league, it was more that Atletico could lose it than that we could win it, they were ahead for a long time. There were some strange refereeing decisions which cost us wins. Obviously, we were disappointed not to win anything, but that's football. The second half of the season was very good, we showed up in big games, but it was against other teams when we failed”.
Comments