Eden Hazard to leave Real Madrid after mutual agreement to terminate contract of former Chelsea man

Eden Hazard’s nightmare spell at Real Madrid is officially over after the Spanish giants confirmed in a press release on Saturday evening that the Belgian had agreed to a mutual termination of the final year of his contract.

Hazard made the dream switch from Chelsea in 2019, but injuries and general struggles with fitness meant that the Belgian was only a shadow of his best self in the Spanish capital.

After breaking out in Lille’s 2010-11 Ligue 1-winning campaign, Hazard made the move to Chelsea in 2012. His signing was confirmed shortly after The Blues’ shock Champions League final win over Bayern Munich.

After moving to England, Hazard’s star continued to rise. In seven seasons, he scored 138 goals, made 105 assists and won two Premier League titles. He added an FA Cup, a League Cup and two UEFA Europa Leagues to his bulging trophy cabinet before leading Belgium to third place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The following summer, Hazard joined Real Madrid in a deal reportedly worth an initial £88.3 million deal worth up to £142m.

In what was a busy summer for Madrid, other signings included the £50m Serbian striker Luka Jovic, Brazil defender Eder Militao, Lyon full-back Ferland Mendy and emerging Santos star Rodrygo.

While Madrid won La Liga and beat Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, Hazard was a peripheral figure, playing just over 1500 minutes in all competitions. A hamstring injury delayed his debut until mid-September, before a cracked bone in his foot saw him miss the entire winter. Shortly after returning to fitness, he fractured his fibula and missed several games later in the season with a knock.

In each of his four seasons in Madrid, Hazard missed more than half of the matches with injury. When uninjured, the Belgian struggled badly for fitness and was regularly criticised by the Spanish press.

This season he went seven months between appearances, with manager Carlo Ancelotti opting to leave him as an unused substitute in 18 consecutive league matches.

Hazard leaves Madrid with 100 appearances in four seasons across all competitions, scoring 10 goals and creating 18 more. Those goal and assist totals over four years are less than he managed in all but one season at Chelsea.

The Athletic reports that Hazard may even consider retirement.

Hazard follows Madrid team-mates Marco Asensio and Mariano Diaz in being released on Saturday.