Hazard has taken a back seat in Ancelotti’s plans. EFE’The Athletic’ claims that Eden Hazard intends to stay at Real Madrid until the end of his contract, i.e. summer 2024. The board’s priority was to sell him in the next transfer window to recoup part of the money they invested in him when they signed him from Chelsea years ago.

Months have passed and Hazard has not changed his mind. His brother Kylian, in an interview with ‘Het Laastste Nieuws’, warned: “Eden has already made his career. He is fine where he is, his family feels good there. He has a contract until 2024 and I think he will wait until then”. Now, ‘The Athletic’ exclusively claims that the Belgian intends to stay at Real Madrid until the summer of 2024.

The player’s motives are personal and professional. On the private side, as his brother has already said, he is comfortable in the Spanish capital at a family level, so there is no reason to make a move. After spending most of his career living in London, it seems that he is one of those players who prioritise stability for his loved ones, without moving every few seasons.

In sporting terms, he is aware that he has had to take a back seat in Ancelotti’s plans. Even so, both the coaching staff and the dressing room value his good humour, his ability to form a group and his constant jokes to improve everyone’s mood. Thus, despite the fact that he doesn’t get on the pitch much, he is a notable asset for the development of the group atmosphere.

His brother Kylian, in a sense, also warned of this: “Maybe Eden is playing a bit less now and the team is working without him, but everyone knows how good he is. He has to prove he is a good substitute.” Hazard seems to have accepted his slump and has no problem in trying to be useful to his manager in a role not as a star, but as a guaranteed substitute.