Hazard leaves Real Madrid after four dismal years

Eden Hazard will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season after agreeing to terminate his contract a year early, the club said on Saturday, with the winger following a dismal four years in La Liga since his move from Chelsea .

Hazard, who joined Real Madrid in 2019 as the most expensive signing in the Spanish club's history, has been limited by several injury issues and has struggled to settle at the Santiago Bernabeu.

" Real Madrid and Eden Hazard have reached an agreement that the player will be released from the club on June 30 , 2023 , " the club said .

Hazard won a number of trophies during his time at Real Madrid, including the Champions League and two La Liga titles.

He is limited to 392 minutes in the 2022-23 season and has not completed 90 minutes for the team since December 2021 , a lack of game time affecting his performances for club and country.

He underperformed in Qatar's World Cup with Belgium as they were knocked out at the pool stage and decided to retire from international football after the match.

Hazard joined Real Madrid from Chelsea for a club-record fee, reportedly starting at £ 88.5 million ( $ 110 million) excluding add-ons, on a weekly salary of £ 400,000 , making him the team's highest earner. one of the players.

Removing the midfielder's wages next season will likely see Real Madrid targeting a new striker, with coach Ancelotti admitting he would like some fresh faces to arrive.

" In general, the squad for next season will be different because there are a lot of contracts coming up, " Ancelotti told reporters on Saturday.

" Obviously the contracts will be terminated and there will be different players. But the squad will be very competitive. "

Ancelotti also played down the prospect of striker Karim Benzema leaving the club.

" He's ready to play tomorrow and he has one year left on his contract. We have no doubts about that. "

Real Madrid also confirmed the departures of attacking midfielder Marco Asensio and striker Mariano Diaz .