Real Madrid: Why Euro 2020 success is vital for Eden Hazard

Real Madrid left winger Eden Hazard joined the club in the summer 2019 transfer window for more than 100 million euros, and he’s failed to live up to the price tag due to a myriad of injuries. It’s been equal parts disappointing and frustrating to watch Hazard appear on the injury report week after week, with only flashes of brilliance there to briefly appease restless Madridistas.

Heading into Euro 2020, Belgium are among the tournament favorites. They have Serie A’s MVP in Romelu Lukaku, one of the world’s best players in Kevin de Bruyne, and a few quality pieces like potential tournament breakout star Jeremy Doku and Atletico Madrid’s Yannick Carrasco. But with question marks defensively, the Red Devils are going to have to rely on their attack to score a LOT of goals.

Eden Hazard was one of the top three players in the 2018 World Cup, dazzling with his dribbling and chance-creation as he helped lead Belgium to a third-place finish. He is the golden boy of the golden generation of Belgium stars, and there’s a tacit understanding that if they are to fulfill their potential and truly challenge a seemingly unbeatable France team, they need Hazard to return to something resembling the top-five player in the world he was before 2019-2020.

So Hazard is going to be vital for the Belgium national team at Euro 2020. But his performances for his country are also going to be essential from a Real Madrid perspective.

A strong performance at Euro 2020 could also help Eden Hazard boost his transfer value

Although Hazard has disappointing to this point in his Madrid career, there is still hope within the organization that the best of Hazard can return. Look, nobody can honestly count on anything from Hazard, because he’s offered so little these past two seasons with few signs of recovering his health. But Real have no choice but to hope.

That’s because Hazard has no real transfer value. He is 30 years old now and is coming off two below-average seasons. Hazard is a massive injury risk. His wages are not insignificant. There are few teams that can afford Hazard’s wages who are interested in paying a noteworthy transfer fee to gamble on him. His transfer value is at the lowest it has ever been in his career. And thus, Real may feel it is simply better to hold onto him for one more season and hope for the best.

Hazard having a big performance at Euro 2020 could help Real Madrid in two ways. It could give them confidence that he can help the team in 2021-2022. But more cynically, it could help boost his transfer value. A big-time performance on a stage like the Euros could convince an on-the-fence team to pay, say, 50 million euros for Hazard, who could become expendable anyway if Real Madrid achieve their grand dream of Kylian Mbappe this summer.

Belgium national team manager Roberto Martinez says that Eden Hazard is fully fit and ready for the Euros. If he can stay fit, he stands a good chance of performing well on a team that includes de Bruyne, Lukaku, Carrasco, Doku, Youri Tielemans, and his underrated brother Thorgan Hazard. That’s a quality core of attacking players, and they are a group Eden is familiar with.

The Euros are important for every Real Madrid player, but Hazard is under the finest microscope of anyone due to his recent struggles, questionable future in Spain’s capital, and importance to the high hopes of his national team. Let’s see if he can bounce back.