The story to perhaps one of the most lackluster and disappointing transfers of all time has come to an end.
On Saturday, June 3, Real Madrid announced that the club and Eden Hazard had come to an agreement to terminate his contract with immediate effect. Hazard will become a free agent as of June 30, 2023.
Comunicado Oficial: Hazard. #RealMadrid
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) June 3, 2023
The No.7’s contract was originally valid until 2024, but after foreseeing yet another sporadic season for the Belgian, the club and the player decided to cut ties early.
Eden Hazard arrived to Real Madrid in 2019 after the Merengues paid a whopping fee of over $100 million to bring the winger from Chelsea F.C.
Though, what seemed like a Ronaldo-esque acquisition for Los Blancos, turned into the complete opposite.
After four seasons, the Belgian played 76 games, scoring an ignominious total of seven goals and providing only 12 assists. If you do the math, that’s around $5.2 million for each goal contribution.
Absurd numbers.
The lackluster career of Hazard in Madrid was, of course, filled with injuries and physical issues that restrained his will to succeed at the club. Prior to arriving to La Casa Blanca, the Belgium international had missed a total of 21 games to due injury throughout his 7-year stint at Chelsea (three games per season).
Since he arrived to LaLiga in 2019, the Belgian missed a total of 78 (20 games per season).
After becoming a free agent for the first time in his career, an injury-filled past in Spain reportedly has the 32-year-old thinking twice about continuing to play professionally. According to multiple sources, the former PFA Player of the Year will take the next few weeks to decide whether he’s going to listen to clubs’ offers or announce his retirement.
Official: Eden Hazard leaves Real Madrid! Contract terminated by mutual agreement.
“Real Madrid C. F. and Eden Hazard have reached an agreement by which the player is disassociated from the club as of June 30, 2023”, club announces. #Hazard pic.twitter.com/0moZaBUQzK— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 3, 2023
All in all, it’s definitely heart-wrenching to see such a star amongst this generation of elite players struggle to do what they love most.
Whether it was injuries, lack of confidence, managerial decisions or his mental health, the Eden Hazard that we all loved to watch in the Premier League never managed to show up for Los Galácticos and if we’re being quite honest, it’d be a shame to see Hazard say goodbye to professional soccer at this point of his career.
Eden Hazard. The Greatest pic.twitter.com/kDzfK6RYAZ
— CarefreeLewisG (@CarefreeLewisG) June 3, 2023
