Eden Hazard and Carlo Ancelotti 'don't talk' as Real Madrid outcast reveals plan for next season

By Sports Desk March 14, 2023

Eden Hazard has decided to stay with Real Madrid next season as the club's forgotten superstar clings to the faint hope of reviving his Santiago Bernabeu career.

The Belgian winger was Chelsea's player of the year in 2018-19, his final season at Stamford Bridge, hitting 16 goals in 37 Premier League games and helping the Blues win the Europa League.

Since leaving London as a 28-year-old at the peak of his powers, however, Hazard has suffered a wretched run of injuries that have blighted his Madrid career.

He has been fit for most of this season, but Ancelotti seemingly regards him as peripheral to his plans, and there is no obvious prospect of his status changing.

Hazard has played only 98 minutes in LaLiga this term and just 297 minutes across all competitions, and he has one season left on his contract before the club can discard the €100million man.

All the same, Hazard hopes that one year can be transformative, and he told Belgian broadcaster RTBF: "I would like to stay here. I have always dreamed of this club. I'm only waiting for one thing. That is to be on the pitch to prove that I can still play football, even if people doubt it, which is normal.

"There is only one thing that could get me out of the spiral in which I am, and that it is to play. After months without a game, I know I wouldn't score five goals in my first game. I need time. But at Real, we don't have the time.

"I see in training that I can bring something. I feel good physically. But there are other players who are doing well."

Hazard is destined to be watching on as Madrid tackle Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday before facing Barcelona in LaLiga on Sunday.

Addressing his relationship with Ancelotti, Hazard said: "There is respect between us. But I'm not going to say that we talk to each other, because we don't talk to each other.

"But there will always be respect. I have to have respect for a guy like Carlo Ancelotti. What he represents for football, what he has done in his career. There is no problem."

Hazard was such a special player in his prime, that to be reduced to effectively begging for a chance to reignite his career at the age of 32 is a desperate fall from grace.

He continues to be paid well by Madrid, but his professional pride has been jolted.

"I'm not asking to play 90 minutes but just to feel useful," he said. "Last season, my situation was difficult to live with. It affects me less now."

He claims some Madrid team-mates have urged him to move on and find a team where he would play.

"But that's not my option," he said. "I remain convinced that I can bring something."

Related items

  • Gabbia, Pisilli and Maldini named in Italy's Nations League squad Gabbia, Pisilli and Maldini named in Italy's Nations League squad

    Luciano Spalletti has handed four players their senior call-up to the Italy national team ahead of their Nations League fixtures next week. 

    Italy take on Belgium and Israel in the next round of games, hoping to build on their impressive start in Group A2 after winning their opening two games which included a 3-1 win over France.

    Milan defender Matteo Gabbia has been included after an impressive run of performances at centre-back under new head coach Paulo Fonseca.

    Gabbia is also the first player from the Rossoneri to be named in the Italy squad in almost 600 days, with Sandro Tonali, who joined Newcastle in 2023, the last Milan representative to feature for the Azzurri. 

    There was also a place in the squad for Monza's Daniel Maldini, who could follow in the footsteps of his father Paolo, and grandfather Cesare, both former Italy captains.

    Maldini has one goal and one assist in seven appearances in all competitions this season, and comes in for Lazio's Matteo Zaccagni.

    Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio has also been given a first call-up to the senior side, replacing the injured Alex Meret of Napoli. 

    Roma's Niccolo Pisilli was also named in the squad, replacing Atlanta's Marco Brescianini, who has also suffered a recent injury set-back.

    There were five Premier League representatives named in Spalletti's 23-man squad on Friday, with Guglielmo Vicario, Riccardo Calafiori, Caleb Okoli, Destiny Udogie and Tonali also included. 

    However, there was no space for Liverpool's Federico Chiesa, who did not feature in the Reds' Champions League win over Bologna in midweek. 

    Italy squad: Michele Di Gregorio (Juventus), Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG), Guglielmo Vicario (Spurs), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Raoul Bellanova (Atalanta), Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Matteo Gabbia (Milan), Caleb Okoli (Leicester), Destiny Udogie (Tottenham Hotspur), Nicolo Fagioli (Juventus), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Niccolo Pisilli (Roma), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle United), Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Daniel Maldini (Monza), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Atalanta). 

  • Colorado Rapids v Seattle Sounders: Armas eyeing top four finish despite Galaxy setback Colorado Rapids v Seattle Sounders: Armas eyeing top four finish despite Galaxy setback

    Colorado Rapids head coach Chris Armas believes his side can break into the top four of the Western Conference ahead of facing the Seattle Sounders this weekend.

    The Rapids currently occupy sixth in the standings and have already qualified for the playoffs, but are just three points behind Real Salt Lake in fourth.

    Armas’ side have won just one of their last four MLS fixtures, though, with their latest defeat coming at the hands of the LA Galaxy, despite Connor Ronan scoring the opener.

    “We are looking forward to Saturday. We’re looking forward to getting right back out there on the pitch here at home in our quest for a top four finish,” Armas said.

    “That’s what is on our minds right now. We’re looking forward to Seattle coming here, another top team.

    “I’m really proud of my team and how they are going for it. We knew we were facing a really good team who are in first place. It was not the result we wanted, but that is football when you play good teams, the margins are thin, and it is a game we can learn from.”

    Seattle, meanwhile, come into the encounter brimming with confidence having now gone five games unbeaten, most recently sweeping aside 10-man Vancouver Whitecaps away from home.

    The Sounders are three points ahead of this weekend’s opponents but know a victory is a must if they are to remain in the top four ahead of the playoffs.

    With just two games left of the regular season, head coach Brian Schmetzer was not worried about the workload on his players, insisting rotation could be required this weekend.

    “If you look at the calendar and you see after this next game, we have a week off before we play Portland, so the team that is playing extended minutes is going to have plenty of opportunity to recover,” Schmetzer said.

    “We’re going to go to Colorado and make sure we don’t put anybody at an injury risk and put a strong team out against a very good side.

    “Then we’ll play out the rest of the season how we see fit.”

    BIG ROAD DUB pic.twitter.com/Dkl4MRKVvX

    — Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) October 3, 2024

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Colorado Rapids – Djordje Mihailovic

    Mihailovic’s assist on Wednesday took him to 23 goal contributions this season (11 goals, 12 assists), equalling the single-season club record set by Diego Rubio in 2022.

    The American is the only player in Rapids history with at least 10 goals and 10 assists in a single season.

    Seattle Sounders - Albert Rusnak

    Rusnak scored a goal and recorded two assists in Seattle’s win over Vancouver.

    It marked the third time in his last 11 regular season appearances that Rusnak had a goal and an assist in a match after not doing so in any of his previous 93 appearances dating back to 2021.

    MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

    The Sounders have recorded 22 regular season wins over the Rapids, more than against any other team since they joined the MLS in 2009. In fact, the only MLS team with more regular season wins over a single opponent in that time is Real Salt Lake, also against Colorado (24).

    Including their victory over Vancouver, the Sounders have won 11 of their last 15 regular season matches (D2 L2). This is the third different campaign in which Seattle has won 11 or more times in a 15-game span in league play, joining 2011 and 2018.

    Colorado come into the game off the back of a 3-1 defeat to LA Galaxy, their first such result on home soil in 10 matches. It was the first time the Rapids lost a home match by multiple goals since a 3-1 defeat to Nashville SC in May 2022.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Colorado Rapids – 35.1%

    Draw – 26%

    Seattle Sounders – 39%

  • 'Winning is the best way to defend Man City', says Guardiola 'Winning is the best way to defend Man City', says Guardiola

    Pep Guardiola believes the best way to defend Manchester City amid their current hearing is by winning games.

    An independent hearing into City's 115 charges for alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules began last month.

    The alleged breaches relate to a period between 2009 and 2018, and City were charged and referred to an independent commission in February 2023 after a four-year investigation.

    City strongly denies the charges.

    If found guilty, the club could face huge fines, points deductions and possibly even relegation from the top-flight.

    Despite the severity of the potential punishment, Guardiola insists his trust in the club remains unbroken.

    "I'm part of this club, deep inside of my bones and the best way to defend the club is winning games and doing my job as best as possible," Guardiola said on Friday.

    "We cannot misunderstand why I am here, I am the manager, the person at the club who talks more through all the media, to send messages to fans.

    "And, of course, I am going to defend my club. I trust [them], since the owner, since the chairman for the relation, the CEO, and all the people working here for many many years.

    "I know them quite well, much more than any of you. The best way to defend is by doing our job the best, everyone working here have their own responsibility.

    "The rest, of course, there are situations in the eight or nine years, it always is there. Some of them expected, some of them more tough to deal with, but it is what it is.

    "No complaints and you do what you have to do. I'm part of this club, not just the manager. I love this club, and it will always be that way."

    Guardiola has been at City for nine years, winning six Premier League titles, including the last four in a row, two FA Cups, four EFL Cups, the Champions League, a UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.

    He is currently in the last year of his contract and has hinted in recent months that his time at City may soon come to an end.

    The fans are set to unveil a banner saying "We want you to stay" during their game against Fulham at the Etihad on Saturday, and the head coach was touched by the gesture.

    "They have to bring me the bill. I have to pay for the banner. I don't want to spend money for that reason," he added.

    "What can I say? Thank you so much, I fell in love since the first day I arrived here, let's see.

    "When it's going to happen, it's going to happen."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.