Eden Hazard: “I Wasn’t There To Replace Cristiano”
The former Real Madrid forward reflected on the pressure surrounding his arrival
MADRID, SPAIN - MAY 13: Eden Hazard of Real Madrid looks on during the LaLiga Santander match between Real Madrid CF and Getafe CF at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on May 13, 2023 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images) | Getty Images When Eden Hazard arrived at Real Madrid in the summer of 2019, the expectations were impossible to ignore. Cristiano Ronaldo had left the club one year earlier, leaving behind a historic void both statistically and emotionally, and Hazard was widely viewed as the superstar signing meant to lead Madrid into its next era.
But according to Hazard himself, that narrative never matched reality. Speaking in an interview with Canal Plus, the former Belgian international explained that he never saw himself as Cristiano Ronaldo’s replacement, insisting that the comparison was created externally rather than internally. “Succeeding Cristiano at Real Madrid wasn’t a burden because, in my opinion, I wasn’t there to replace him,” Hazard said.
“It’s the media who say, ‘he’s going to replace Ronaldo. “I think I have a completely different style of play than him,” Hazard explained. “I couldn’t score 60 or 70 goals a year.
In fact, throughout my entire career, I barely scored that many. ” The Belgian arrived from Chelsea as one of the most technically gifted attackers in world football, but never as a player built around elite goal-scoring production. At Stamford Bridge, Hazard thrived as a creator, ball progressor, and dribbler rather than a volume scorer in the mold of Ronaldo.