Eden Hazard firing shots at Real Madrid! Ex-Chelsea man labels Spanish club ‘big-headed’ and explains why he didn’t ‘fit in’ during nightmare spell

Hazard joined Los Blancos from Chelsea in 2019 in a deal worth up to £130 million ($164m) but he scored just seven goals in 76 appearances. The former Belgium international, who retired from football last October at the age of 32, struggled for form and was beset by injuries during his time at Madrid and now he has painted a less than rosy picture about his time there.

The ex-Chelsea star told L'Equipe: "Now it's easy to say. Since I was little I was a fan of [Zinedine] Zidane. The Bernabeu, the white shirt... it has a charm that the others don't have. Madrid is special. Beyond that, I don't think I fit in. It's not like me.

"It's a bit of a big-headed club, and I'm not like that. I didn't even like the way we played if you compare it with other clubs. But it was my dream. I couldn't finish my career without going there. This shows that Madrid is bigger than anything else. It is difficult to play there. Maybe I needed to train more.

"I also had the worst injuries at the worst times. The operation... I came back, it hurt, I forced myself. In the second season [Carlo] Ancelotti arrived. I had good preparation, I played well. But my body, the pain, the injuries..."

Hazard had a glittering career in the game but he appears to be firing shots at Madrid, including questioning Cristiano Ronaldo's strict fitness regime and claiming he was better than the Portuguese star. The winger himself was criticised for arriving overweight at the Spanish side and after taking pelters during his time at Santiago Bernabeu, Hazard is throwing a few jabs of his own.

Hazard, who won two Premier League titles during his time at Chelsea between 2012-19, is settling into retired life whereas Ronaldo, six years his senior, is still playing, currently for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr.