Only six months ago, there was talk that Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal were looking at signing former Chelsea winger Eden Hazard from his troublesome spell at Real Madrid.
Well, fast forward to the present, and with 12 months left on his Real Madrid contract, Eden Hazard is set to be released by the La Liga giants, as posted by Sky Sports.
Kieran Gibbs, who played against the 32-year-old during their days at Arsenal and Chelsea, stated that the news is ‘hard to swallow’ and when he was at the Emirates ‘everyone spoke about him’ in glowing terms, as he told ESPN.
Back in January, the Gunners wanted to add Mykhailo Mudryk’s to their books – but they were finding that deal difficult to get done, and in the end, he ended up at Chelsea.
That’s why alternative names were being thrown into the ring about moving to the then Premier League title-chasing side, even Hazard got a surprise mention.
But the man who once cost £130 million (Sky Sports) for Real Madrid, is now seeing his contract cut short, booted out and seen as one of the club’s worst-ever transfers, with Gibbs disappointed.
“There’s one player, as players in the club, we never used to speak about if we were coming up against a team the next day,” said Gibbs. “We never used to, out of pride and ego, we never used to speak about another player.
“But he was one everyone would speak about. That season he won the league, it was a virtuoso season from him, he single-handedly took Chelsea and took them to the Premier League title.
“Jack Grealish come out and said that he’s not one of the most professional guys at times and he likes to go out and have a drink. But he has performed this season. I don’t know if you can put it down to that (Hazard’s decline at Real Madrid).
“To be honest, I just miss him. He was just so good to watch. I think fans, of the Hazard that we know, just want to see him perform because he’s an entertainer. That’s who he was. That’s the hardest thing to swallow with this move to Madrid.”
WILL HAZARD RETIRE?
Some fans are questioning if that’s the road he will go down because, after four goals and nine assists in 54 La Liga games, his career has hit its lowest number.
Added to that, things went very wrong for him and Belgium at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – he then decided to retire from international football.
In truth, unless he gets a massive Saudi offer, then it wouldn’t be a surprise if he decides to hang up his boots because, aside from his abject form, injuries have also destroyed him.
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