Real Madrid and Belgium playmaker Eden Hazard claims to be in “good condition” despite seeing his weight questioned by Arsene Wenger.
The former Chelsea star saw his fitness thrust under the microscope over the summer as he made a big-money move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Ex-Arsenal boss Wenger was among those to suggest that Hazard arrived in Spain for a fresh start “too heavy”.
The Frencham told beIN Sports of the early struggles for form suffered by the 28-year-old in Madrid: "I think it was more down to physical reasons. He became too heavy and what you read in the papers.
"If you want to make a horse lose a race, you put two kilos on a horse of 500kgs and it's enough."
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Hazard has refuted any suggestion that he was overweight when linking up with the Blancos.
He believes it merely took him a few weeks to find his feet in new surroundings, having linked up with Real nursing a knock.
Signs of encouragement have been offered in recent outings, with Hazard of the opinion that he is now back in peak condition.
He told Sky Sports: "For the last month I've been in good condition with no injuries.
"I'm in good shape. When I'm on the pitch I will always try to do my best, with Real Madrid or Belgium. I just want to keep this momentum."
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Along with Wenger’s suggestion that he was carrying a few extra pounds when arriving in Spain, Hazard has seen former Chelsea team-mate John Obi Mikel pick him out as the laziest player the Nigerian midfielder has worked with.
“Hazard has an incredible talent,” Mikel told beIN Sports in Turkey.
“Maybe not as good as [Lionel] Messi, but he can do whatever he wants with the ball at his feet.
“He didn’t like to train hard. While we were working he was waiting for us to finish training just standing there. But on Sundays he was always man of the match, it was unbelievable.”
Hazard has maximised his talent to become a superstar at club level and a man with 105 caps for his country.
He is hoping to add to that tally on Tuesday when the Red Devils bring the curtain down on their Euro 2020 qualification campaign with a home date against Cyprus.
"It's good to play our last game at home, especially when you have qualified already," Hazard added. "You have nothing to play for, but you hope for a party with the fans against Cyprus.
"We had a problem with winning away so it won't be easy but hopefully we can score some goals, keep a clean sheet and keep the fans happy."
