Eden Hazard is rare. This season, we have seen little of him on the pitch with Real Madrid. Indeed, it has only been used seven times by Carlo Ancelotti. Despite everything, the former Chelsea player does not want to let go and trains hard, he who wants to complete his contract which ends in 2024 as revealed on our site last week. With Belgium, the native of La Louvière had much more confidence from Roberto Martinez during the World Cup in Qatar. Hazard has played three games, including two as a starter. But he could not prevent the elimination of the Red Devils.
After that, the 31-year-old footballer announced the end of his international career. A decision he had taken a long time ago, as he explained during an interview with the RTBF. He said he made this choice long before the World Cup in Qatar. Then, he admitted to being moved, he who was supported by his relatives and his teammates in the selection. He then spoke of the reasons that motivated this irrevocable decision to listen to him.
Hazard had been thinking about international retirement for a long time
“There are several factors. I started thinking about it after the Euro. At the time, I had worked a lot, I got injured, I couldn’t play against Italy. It really took a toll on my morale. There are lots of things. I’m here in Madrid with Toni Kroos who stopped the German selection two years ago and who tells me that when the other players are in selection, he can enjoy with his children. And then the coach left, we had a very good relationship. There are also young people growing. I could not see myself not playing at Real Madrid and then arriving in the selection and playing, whereas young people deserve to play for the Devils (…) I never said it but the fact of having played less in recent years with my two best friends who were Marouane Fellaini and Christian Benteke, it was no longer the same thing. I was super close to both. I didn’t quit because of that but I missed them.”
The former LOSC player then returned to the last World Cup and the many problems of the Belgian selection. The media spoke of great tensions in the locker room where there were many clashes. But it is not the truth to listen to the Red Devil. “Of everything that was said at the World Cup, there was very little truth. The relationship with the players, with the elders, has always been exceptional. From what I saw, there was no tension. No one fought. It was impossible for Eden to fight with Jan. Because we already respect each other, we prefer to tell each other things. We had a discussion all together after the match against Morocco, which was necessary.
The Belgian talks about the problems in the selection
Despite everything, Eden Hazard did not appreciate everything within the national team in Qatar. “Me, if I could have chosen, I would not have made this meeting (after the defeat against Morocco, editor’s note). Because in football, every time you lose, you have to get together and discuss. No ! We had a bad game, we all know that. Let’s train the next day with the desire to do well. And as I’ve always said, always done, the training ground is the best medicine. We had a good match against Croatia, unfortunately it didn’t go through, too bad for us.
He added : “We had already had small meetings but a meeting like this was the first time. It was in relation to the collective, that you had to be more aggressive, more that. No one was personally targeted. We didn’t tell someone they sucked. It’s a meeting like there are plenty in the clubs, in the selections. There are people who want to talk more than others. When you’re a pro, you know it can happen, especially when expectations are high. When you play for a small team, with all due respect to them, when you lose it’s a bit more normal. When you are in a big team, I see it with Real, you lose two matches in a row, there is a little more tension. It was the same at Chelsea.”
He understood his downgrade
He spoke about the problems on the pitch afterwards. “There are lots of little things that made it not happen for us. You have the best player, Romelu Lukaku, who can score goals but is injured. Kevin De Bruyne who is a little worse, but that’s how it is. And then, against Croatia, it all came down to nothing. De Bruyne could have scored a goal and provided two assists, everyone would have said he had a great game. It’s played on little things… that were against us. The next generation will use this experience, like us, we used 2014 or 2016 which, for us, were failures.
Finally, the player, who admitted that he would have seen Thierry Henry lead Belgium, indicated that he was surprised to have been established. “We mentioned the name of Leandro Trossard to replace me, he was having a good season. Even I wondered why I had to play when he had to go on the bench. It’s normal for people to think that. Especially after the game against Egypt, where we didn’t have a good game, where I didn’t have a good game. Cristiano Ronaldo did not play the last matches of the World Cup with Portugal, and yet it is Cristiano with Portugal, it is even more than Eden with Belgium. It’s football, there are young people who grow, who want to take the place. When I started at 16 in Lille, I took the place of Michel Bastos or another. Players who were there, in place. It’s normal, it’s football.” The page is therefore turned for Hazard.
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