Real Madrid ratings: Every Blancos player's performance in the 2022-23 season - ranked

There's clearly something deeply wrong with Hazard at this point. Whether he lacks confidence or is simply too frequently injured to find any rhythm, the Belgian is a shadow of the player who Madrid shattered their transfer record for.

He played sparingly this season, the highlight of his campaign coming in a Champions League group-stage win over Celtic. He's 32, and reportedly on the brink of retirement — a waste for a footballer that was once among the world's best.

Mariano's exit from Madrid has been confirmed, but he will do so having won everything, despite making little tangible impact for the club. The hype was established in 2018 when he scored 18 Ligue 1 goals for Lyon, and he's simply never lived up to it. He'll go on to better things, presumably.

What to make of a back-up goalkeeper who faces the unenviable task of playing second-fiddle to Thibaut Courtois? Lunin made 12 starts for Madrid and was unspectacular throughout, and although he deserves some credit for a few neat saves in the Clasico win in October, he had little tangible impact on the rest of the season.

His contract expires in June 2024, and a new deal seems unlikely.

Alvaro probably deserved more of a chance. When Benzema was out, Ancelotti often turned to Rodrygo in a central striker role — a position he was never quite comfortable in. Those situations would have been perfect for the young Uruguayan, who was starved of senior minutes.

Still, he continued to develop for Castilla, and grabbed his first senior goal in the Madrid derby. With Benzema gone, he will likely have more time to impress next season.

Mendy endured a confusing campaign. He was excellent for a few months, looking every bit the solid defensive full-back that Madrid need. But things soon soured, and he picked up an injury in February that effectively ended his season.

By the time he returned, Eduardo Camavinga was first-choice at left-back, and Madrid had agreed a deal to sign Rayo Vallecano's Fran Garcia. It's difficult to see Mendy being a regular next season, if he's at the club at all.

Vazquez did everything he had to do in 2022-23, and little else. The 31-year-old was mainly called upon for auxiliary minutes, used as a stand-in for Dani Carvajal or Federico Valverde. He chipped in with four La Liga goals, and was solid defensively. Assuming he sticks around, he will likely be a valuable squad player again next year.

For a brief moment, it seemed like Ceballos' sky-high potential would finally be realised. The former Arsenal man was excellent from late January into mid-February, but when Luka Modric and Toni Kroos returned to full fitness, the midfielder was booted back into the periphery — a place where he stayed for the rest of the season.

With his contract up and future uncertain, a move away might suit him at this point.

Was this the year that Carvajal's decline began? The right-back enjoyed a solid start to the campaign, but looked tired by the end of it all, posting a pair of poor performances against Manchester City in the Champions League semi-final.

He will stick around at the club until at least 2024, but he's now on the wrong side of 30, and is no longer as durable as he used to be. Los Blancos might need a new right-back before long.

Like so many for Madrid, Tchouameni enjoyed a strong start to the season before fading as it wore on. He settled in rather quickly and formed a solid understanding with Kroos and Modric in the opening months, but after the World Cup, things went awry. His performances declined, and he fell out of favour — despite enjoying a solid tournament in Qatar.

Tchouameni will certainly be given more chances to impress, but his start to life in Madrid hasn't been easy.

Alaba was the model of consistency this season, and turned in solid performances at both left-back and centre-back. There was nothing particularly special about his campaign, but nothing wrong with it, either. Alaba has made a career from doing a lot of things very well, without being world-class at anything. For Madrid, that was more than enough.

The Spaniard has been a solid presence for Los Blancos for a few years now, and that continued in 2022-23. It is Nacho's job to plug holes and ensure that there isn't a significant drop off at any position he fills in for, and he mostly did that. There were some standout showings, though, notably a duo of impressive performances against Liverpool in the Champions League.

With his contract up, this could be the end of his Madrid tenure. If so, it's been a fine career.

After a difficult start, Asensio found form in the second half of the season. Heavily left-footed and lacking in work rate, the Spaniard is a fundamentally flawed player. But he can still produce moments of magic, something he proved by banging in a series of left-footed strikes over the last few months of the season.

And those were his final goals for the club. The two sides couldn't come to an agreement on a contract renewal, and Asensio has already agreed to sign for Paris Saint-Germain. Still, he leaves Madrid with plenty of honours to his name, and fond memories to go with them.

Valverde, like a few in this Madrid side, experienced radically different seasons on either side of the World Cup. In the lead up to Qatar, the Uruguayan looked like one of the best in the world. He was banging in goals at a career rate, and the Steven Gerrard comparisons swiftly emerged.

When he returned, though, things changed. Valverde's form dipped sharply, and he was in the news for the wrong reasons after getting into a physical altercation with a Villarreal player after a game in April. He improved over the final weeks of the season, but looks every bit a player who needs a rest.

Kroos is predictable in the best way possible. For 90 minutes, the German will jog around and pass quite a lot. Some of the passes are sideways. Others are backwards. A lot of them can be forwards. He routinely has the most touches of any player on the pitch and by far the highest pass completion percentage.

At this point in his career, Kroos is more of a tempo-setting regista than box-to-box threat. And that has cost Madrid at times; he's rather slow these days. Still, Madrid aren't quite the same without him.

Rudiger always seemed like a sensible signing on a free, and he's proven to be as such. He's a similar profile of player to Eder Militao, but that wasn't much of a problem for a Madrid side that regularly rotated in central defence. And when Militao went through a late-season blip, Rudiger held his own.

It'll be interesting to see if he's a nailed-on starter next year — Ancelotti experimented with him at left-back to mixed results. Still, he will be a valuable player regardless.

For a few months, Militao was quite comfortably the best centre-back in La Liga. Then, a few poor performances and muscle injuries later, things looked a little bit shaky. The Brazilian had a blip to cap off an otherwise memorable season, struggling for form as Los Blancos faded during the final weeks. Still, it does little to take away from how good he was in the opening months. He will be back to the top in no time.

Rodrygo has arguably been Madrid's most improved player this season. The quality was always there, something he showed with a brace against Man City in last season's Champions League semi-final, but consistency had been elusive.

And this campaign, he finally found it. Rodrygo became a more complete goalscorer and provider, while also showing some crucial versatility that should make him one of the first names on the teamsheet going forward.

Is he a left-back? A No.6? A No.8? Perhaps, Camavinga could be a left-midfielder. Ancelotti doesn't seem to care, as Camavinga has proven this season that he simply has to play. He was excellent at full-back for a few months, despite openly hating the position, and when Ancelotti needed an extra midfielder, Camavinga fit into his usual spot with ease.

There were some sloppy moments and he looked tired in the final weeks of the season. Still, he's world-class for his age, and will only improve.

When Benzema was fit, he scored a lot of goals. Unfortunately, those long spells on the pitch often evaded him. The striker is in his mid-30s, and proved this season that he can no longer play a full campaign at the top. There was something rather sad about that, the reigning Ballon d'Or winner enduring spells on the sidelines, and looking short of his best in big games.

Still, he bagged 30 goals in all competitions, including a hat-trick against Barcelona. It's hard to complain. A new chapter now starts, as the Frenchman has agreed a deal to play in the Saudi Pro League.

Another one who has seen his minutes decrease, Modric was still magical at his best. The Croatian basically gets to pick his games at this point, and he's chosen the right ones.

He was magnificent against Liverpool in the Champions League, and dominated two Clasicos, too. He probably only has one more season left, but he remains among the best in the world.

How many clubs have an elite shot-stopper, who can play with his feet, and seldom makes mistakes? Perhaps only Liverpool's Alisson was better than Courtois this season, and Madrid fans would surely argue the other way.

He was once again magnificent in goal, often keeping scorelines close when Madrid endured their all-too-common defensive lapses. It's hard to get credit when you play for a side that doesn't win everything, but Courtois deserves all of the plaudits.

What a player! The scary thing about Vinicius is that he continues to improve. In 2021-22, he was truly excellent, becoming one of the best in the world and developing a deadly partnership with Benzema. This season, he was even better.

Often playing without his partner, Vinicius had to go alone, and he proved he can be a creator and goalscorer in his own right. He has a real shout to be the best winger in the world right now.