Mat Ryan/ Eden HazardGetty

'Thank god he’s p*ssed off' - Why Ryan's happy to see the back of Hazard

Brighton and Hove Albion keeper Mat Ryan has joked about his pleasure at seeing Eden Hazard seal a move away from the Premier League.

The Belgian star secured a transfer to Real Madrid earlier this month and the Aussie is glad he no longer has to worry about facing him.

In Ryan's two games against Hazard last season, the Socceroo conceded five goals with Chelsea's former number 10 scoring two of those. 

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"I think from the four times I’ve faced him I haven’t saved a shot from him yet," Ryan told the Fox Football Podcast.

"It’s either been blocked, he’s hit the shot off target or he’s scored a goal.

"It’s a bit of an annoying fact so thank god he’s p*ssed off somewhere else. I put in a nice word to (Real Madrid) for him.

"I would love to have the opportunity to face him again and stop him - that’s my motivation." 

Mat Ryan Brighton 2019

Regularly facing off against star players at club level, Ryan is set for a massive test with Australia in 2020 after they were invited to compete in next year's edition of Copa America.

The Socceroos shot-stopper is adamant the competition is exactly what the green and gold need to improve under Graham Arnold. 

“Going into a tournament like that with the quality of opposition that we’re going to be facing and the experience it’s all going to give us is going to be phenomenal for us moving forward as a nation,” he said.

"The more games we can get of that higher quality, common sense tells you, the better we’re going to get, the better we’re going to progress.

"So I’ve got no doubt that tournament is going to be of massive importance for our growth as a footballing nation and a footballing team and footballing individuals."

Japan and Qatar are currently competing at Copa America with Australia and Qatar the two non-South American sides invited to next year's edition.

The tournament will be split across Argentina and Colombia with the Socceroos set for their first foray into the continent since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. 

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