Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has admitted that he will not stand in the way if out-of-favour star Eden Hazard wishes to leave the club.
Speaking to the press earlier this week, as reported by The Athletic, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has claimed that if Eden Hazard or any other player not getting game-time wishes to leave the club, he would allow them to do so.
Since joining Real Madrid from Chelsea, Hazard’s struggles have known no bounds as he has battled constant injury and fitness issues, relegating him to a mere option on the bench. From being a superstar in London, the Belgian wing-wizard has become an out-of-favour player at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Game-time has been hard to come by for the former LOSC Lille hotshot under Ancelotti. The Italian tactician explained earlier in the month that while Hazard was fit, he preferred other players over him. The 30-year-old has started just four La Liga games this season for Los Blancos. He was an unused substitute in the El Clasico against Barcelona and has only featured as a late sub in their last two encounters.
Hazard’s situation at Real Madrid has sparked speculations of an exit from the Bernabeu, with interest from former club Chelsea and their Premier League rivals Newcastle United. Now, when quizzed about a possible exit for the Belgian international, Ancelotti has left the door open for him to leave.
“I have never in my coaching career forced a player who wants to leave to stay,” Ancelotti said on Friday before continuing, “In my personal opinion, there is no question about it. If a player wants to leave, he is going to leave. There is not much doubt about this.”
Hazard, in his two-year spell at Real Madrid, has managed just 53 appearances in which he has scored only five goals and set up nine more. The 30-year-old finds himself behind Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo Goes and Marco Asensio in the pecking order of things, and his situation does not look like improving any time soon.
So, even though his contract with Los Blancos runs till the summer of 2024, an exit from the Bernabeu could very well be on the cards, at least in the summer if not in January.
