Hazard has had a very difficult period at Real Madrid and has not been able to show his full talent or help the team in the best way. There have been many factors bringing him down to that level and worst part is that there are people in the world of football that now are even questioning his potential and some others are calling him overrated or a failure.
The Belgian winger is looking forward to playing in front of supporters at Santiago Bernabeu after a "difficult" first two years in Spain. Eden Hazard has insisted that he won't leave Real Madrid "as a failure" and says he's determined to show that he's "made for" the Blancos in 2021-22. Much was expected of Hazard when he arrived at Santiago Bernabeu from Chelsea for a club-record fee of €100 million (£86m/$121m) in June 2019. Unfortunately, the 30-year-old has been unable to live up to that price tag due to a string of niggling injuries, and he has now opened up on his frustrations while away on international duty with Belgium at the European Championships.
"I'm only myself when I can enjoy myself on the pitch. That hasn't happened in the last two years at Madrid," Hazard told Het Nieuwsblad. If you have one or two injuries you can flip the switch, you recover to come back stronger, but if it's five, six, seven it's much more difficult mentally. But I keep going".
Asked if he has ever contemplated leaving Real, the former Chelsea winger responded: "It didn't occur to me for a second that it would be better for me to leave. I won't leave there as a failure. I only want to show that I'm made for Real Madrid. The last two years have been difficult, I've been at Madrid without really being at Madrid, you know... We've played in a stadium without fans, and I signed to play at a full Bernabeu. I hope that the work on the stadium can finish quickly so that the stands can be filled again. I need it like that".
Hazard's negative record at Real Madrid: Hazard has been restricted to just 43 appearances across all competitions during his first two seasons at Real, while missing a total of 60 games through injury. The Belgium international only has five goals and six assists to his name so far, but did pick up a La Liga winners' medal in 2019-20.
Hazard also said something about the controversial moment when he went on laughing after Real's Champions League exit. Hazard went on to address the criticism he received after being seen laughing with Chelsea duo Edouard Mendy and Kurt Kouma after Real were beaten 2-0 by the Blues in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final at Stamford Bridge last term. The Blancos were ultimately knocked out 3-1 on aggregate and Hazard saw his loyalty to their cause questioned, but he claims the incident was blown out of proportion. So, the Belgian's time in Spain has seen him haunted by injury and fitness problems, as well as some more recent controversies as well.
"That was wrong," Hazard admitted in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad. What [Edouard] Mendy and [Kurt] Zouma said wasn't even funny, but I played with Zouma and I know Mendy. It's always fun to see your friends again. I know that I damaged Real Madrid's image. Everyone assumed that I wasn't hurting, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I was very disappointed. If there was any game that I wanted to win then it was against my old club at Stamford Bridge."
The No.7 faced a backlash in Spain, particularly from some parts of the media, but he insists that his teammates were largely supportive of him. "I got a few calls," Hazard said when asked if his teammates had anything to say to him afterwards. "But, honestly, it's a very nice group and that's one of the reasons I want to stay. There's a good atmosphere. When I first walked into the dressing room at Real Madrid I was impressed. There are stars, but guys like Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema are just normal people."
It has been suggested that the Belgian is a player that Real Madrid could look to sell this summer in order to bring in money to fund other signings, but he has no plans to leave. Hazard said: "It hasn't occurred to me for a second that I'd be better off leaving". Stepping up to Real Madrid from any club can be difficult and bring added stress, but the Belgian doesn't think that has anything to do with the problems he's had. "Nonsense," Hazard said when asked if stress contributed to his injuries. "Of course there's pressure. Real Madrid are the biggest club in the world and when you play for them then you're expected to be one of the best in the world."
Replacing Cristiano Ronaldo wouldn't have been easy in the best of circumstances, but doing so while also suffering with regular injuries hasn't helped. "That's another thing, I'm not Cristiano Ronaldo," Hazard said. "Ronaldo scores 60 or 70 goals in a year, I score that many in seven or eight years. We're different. I'll never jump as high as him to win a header, but I didn't come here with the idea of being the new Ronaldo. I just have to be Eden Hazard".
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