"Madridistas, I've been here for three years with a lot of injuries, with a lot of things... But next year I'm going to give everything for you." Twelve months ago, Eden Hazard took the microphone in a crowded Cibeles, in full celebration of the Fourteenth, and made a promise to the fans of Real Madrid. The most expensive signing in the history of the white team was at the same time one of its great disappointments. A year after those words, Hazard's reality at the Santiago Bernabeu is even worse. That alarm has become a problem of 30 million euros gross, the highest salary of the entire workforce. A problem that Madrid will try to solve, if they can, this summer.

The Belgian has lifted this course the European Super Cup, the Club World Cup and the Copa del Rey accumulating eight titles in Madrid, but has played less than the previous year, much less, in a statistic that is already difficult to worsen. He has gone from 903 minutes in the 21-22 season to 392 in this one, with 194 in the League, 131 in the Champions League and only 67 in the Cup, the theoretical competition of the substitutes. In the Pizjuán, without Vinicius, Benzema, Asensio or Mariano, he did not even warm up, a consequence of the poor image he showed in the last opportunity given by Carlo Ancelotti: ownership and 61 minutes in Madrid-Getafe on May 13. There, the Belgian did not attempt any dribbles, did not create any chances, did not give any key passes or shoot on goal.

And it is that Hazard, prince of world football before arriving at Chamartín, is no longer even 'substitute' in Madrid. The Belgian is at the bottom of Ancelotti's closet along with Odriozola, Vallejo and Mariano, the only ones who have played fewer minutes than him. He does not enter the rotation, as Nacho, Asensio, Ceballos or Lucas have done, members in the first row of the closet.

The Belgian adds four seasons of injuries, doubts and afternoons on the bench that have despaired Real Madrid and its directive, making his situation critical despite the explosion of Vinicius Júnior. The extraordinary evolution of the Brazilian overshadows a little the gigantic trauma of seeing a signing of 100 million euros and 30 gross contracts day after day in the stands or on the sidelines, turned into a marginal piece of a template that in theory needed him. Not anymore.

"An exceptional companion"

In Valdebebas, where the person of Eden is appreciated, "an impeccable boy in the treatment and an exceptional companion", there is no Hazard footballer and his situation is one of the most work will give this summer to the technical direction of the club. At 32, the former Chelsea player has one year left on his contract, but Madrid will try to accelerate his departure. Not only because it does not count, but because of the constant runrún of having 30 million in the stands or on the bench in each game. Both Ancelotti and the board prefer that this position is occupied by a youth player who can take better advantage of those scarce opportunities, but first they need the departure of the Belgian.

"Whatever I have to tell you I will tell you privately. If he is not happy, he has to ask the club for a way out. If he's happy, he stays," Carletto said of Hazard on Friday. The message is clear, despite the fact that the Belgian has gone from being very clear about his departure this summer to insisting on "fulfilling my contract". "Of course," replied the '7' in the Cup final when asked if he wanted to continue one more year in Madrid. Something that in Chamartín is respected, like all contractual situations, but it is not understood.

That phrase, rather than confirming Hazard's change of heart, confirms the few offers he has on the table. Madrid will try to include him in some operation, but nobody wants his contract of 30 million and no matter how hard his agents are trying, such as the rumor two days ago of a hypothetical presence of the Belgian in the signing of Harry Kane, there is hardly any interest. The MLS or Arabia could be an option, but never at that price and yes from 2024, date in which it does not rule out retirement, once it has already said 'goodbye' to the selection.

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