Former Real Madrid winger Eden Hazard has reflected on the transfer that marked the pinnacle of his career, admitting that wearing the Los Blancos shirt had always been his dream.
Speaking about leaving Chelsea in 2019, the Belgian stressed that the desire to move to Madrid had existed for a long time.
“Signing for Real Madrid was my dream. I wanted to leave even before my last season at Chelsea. I had said I would stay, but if Real Madrid came for me, I would leave.”
His presentation at the Santiago Bernabeu remains one of the most memorable in recent years, with the stadium almost full to welcome him.
“I felt like a child during my presentation at the Santiago Bernabeu,” Hazard said. “Before I went to Real Madrid, I had heard a lot of warnings about the dressing room and the difficulty of adapting to the players. But the reality was completely different.”
“I felt very comfortable from day one. Ramos, Modric and Kroos welcomed me very well. Everyone was fantastic and everything went perfectly.”
At the time, many fans saw Hazard as the successor to Cristiano Ronaldo, but he denied this.
“I didn’t come here to replace Cristiano Ronaldo. He scored a lot of goals in every game. Sometimes I didn’t score any. I came here to be Eden Hazard and to enjoy football.”
However, his Madrid adventure was quickly hit by injuries. A harsh tackle from Thomas Meunier proved decisive.
“Thomas Meunier hit me with an unforgettable force. It was very difficult for me and slowed me down,” said Hazard, adding that he later suffered a recurrence of the injury in the same area, in his ankle.
“That’s where the problems started.”
The Belgian then decided to retire at the age of 33 after leaving Real.