Former Eden Hazard has opened up about the pressure surrounding his move to Real Madrid, revealing that he never actually wanted the iconic number 7 jersey made famous by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Former Belgium midfielder Eden Hazard has opened up about his time at Real Madrid, revealing that he never had any desire to wear the iconic number 7 shirt left vacant by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Hazard made the move from Chelsea to the Spanish giants in the summer of 2019 for a fee of around €100 million, arriving just a year after Ronaldo’s departure from the club.
Despite the high expectations that came with the transfer, his four years at the Santiago Bernabeu were largely hampered by persistent injuries and fitness struggles.
Speaking in an interview, Hazard clarified that he came to Madrid to express himself as a player in his own right, not to fill Ronaldo’s shoes.
He added that his preference had actually been to take Luka Modric’s number 10 shirt, assuming the Croatian legend would be willing to hand it over but Modric declined, and Hazard ended up with the number 7 instead.