Being in with a shot of the Spanish title was expected of Real Madrid after they secured the club-record signing of Eden Hazard last summer, but while they’ve achieved their goals, the Belgian’s impact was bit-part at best.
Openly admitting to being overweight for the start of the season and suffering a string of niggling injuries has resulted in the forward making just 21 appearances in all competitions and a single goal.
In an interview with Franceinfo, Hazard made no bones about the disappointment of his own season, irrespective of Madrid pipping Barça to a 34th La Liga title.
“Certainly there have been injuries, but I hope next year will be better. Although this year has not been a great year for me, to come here and win the championship in the first year, I couldn’t have wished for more,” he said.
“This year, we won this title as a team, because me, at an individual level, have surely had the worst season of my career.”
With La Liga wrapped up with one game to spare, attentions in the capital will turn towards their Champions League round of 16 semi-final second leg with Manchester City. Madrid have it all to do in the return leg after succumbing to a 2-1 home defeat, with Hazard claiming a ‘weird’ season could get even better.
He added: “It has been a bit of a weird season, with everything that has happened. The season is already very good, but I think it can be even better if we qualify from our second leg in the Champions League.
“The next title has to be the Champions League, even if it’s going to be difficult, because we have to play at Manchester City and they have a very good team.”
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