Eden Hazard, who earns £400,000 a week at Real Madrid, has come under fire from Toni Kroos, who claims that the star “let his career die” at the Bernabeu.
Hazard’s four-year stay in Madrid came to an end early last week when the LaLiga giants, who acquired him from Chelsea for £88 million in 2019, decided to break up his contract.
Hazard is said to be thinking about retiring from football at the age of 32 after struggling to make an impression in the capital of Spain. He already announced the end of his international career following Belgium’s disastrous World Cup 2022 campaign.
Toni Kroos, who has three LaLiga titles and four Champions League medals to his name during his nine-year stint at Real Madrid, appeared to make a reference to the Belgian disaster while warning Jude Bellingham after his astonishing six-year transfer to the Bernabeu was reported on Wednesday.
It is understood that Bellingham’s transfer from Borussia Dortmund would cost the Spanish giants £88.5 million, which is comparable to the figure Madrid spent for Hazard in 2019 – but will increase to £113.5 million due to performance-related add-ons.
“We had another player who came for a lot of money and basically let his career die,” he insisted on his podcast Einfach mal Luppen.
“It was a lot of money, I think everyone would say that wasn’t a good transfer. But let’s be positive.”
Hazard scored just seven goals in 76 appearances for the Spanish powerhouses during his four injury-plagued seasons at the Bernabeu.
Bellingham will reportedly be introduced during a presentation ceremony on Thursday in Madrid and then will appear before the media.
Vinicius Jr., a star for Real, tweeted: “Welcome to the best team in the world, @BellinghamJude,” shortly after the transfer was officially announced.
The 19-year-old, who is regarded as a complete midfielder, transferred from Birmingham to Borussia Dortmund in 2020 when he was 16 years old.