Three lessons Real Madrid can learn from Eden Hazard’s signing

The number 7 of Real Madrid is not for everyone

The number seven is a sacred number for Madridistas. That number has been worn by legends like Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul Gonzalez, Juanito, Raymond Kopa, Amancio and Emilio Butragueno. Even today you could see the Grada fans in the Bernabeu swinging a flag with the number seven written on it.

The number 7 is a symbol of hope for Madridistas. That number would often be worn by the most important players of Real Madrid. There are a lot of expectations from a player who wears that ‘holy’ number and that particular player is expected to be having a strong mentality and act as a leader on the pitch. Such is the value of the number seven of Real Madrid.

But the club did a huge mistake by giving the number seven to Mariano Diaz after his return, a player who was a backup striker. That was a decision which wasn’t taken very well by the fans, and even the club realised their mistake after some time. They then gave it to Eden Hazard immediately after his arrival.

The number seven of Real Madrid is the heaviest jersey out there, in terms of expectations, and even Hazard had to live up to the expectations. But unfortunately, Hazard hasn’t been able to do that.

Hazard is a player who wants to enjoy his football and life. He isn’t the “leader” that Real Madrid fans want their players to be. It isn’t Hazard’s mistake, there is no wrong with Hazard being himself. But Hazard made the mistake of arriving overweight at the pre-season of 2019. As I said he is a person who wants to enjoy his life, and he isn’t that disciplined during the vacation, as he himself has admitted.

That was a serious mistake from Hazard while arriving at his dream club. Multiple questions have been raised regarding his commitment and motivation at Real Madrid. As an outsider who doesn’t see Hazard daily in the training, it would be harsh to comment on the Belgian’s discipline. But Jose Mourinho, who managed Hazard at Chelsea has commented that Hazard was often lazy in the training sessions.

It is safe to say that such things wouldn’t be accepted at Real Madrid, a club that demands discipline. Hazard is yet to gain the support of the fans,  entering the third year of his Real Madrid stint. If he keeps this going, he would have to face the whistles of the fans in the Bernabeu, a situation that has been often faced by the legends of Real Madrid. Yes, Hazard has been unlucky, but now it might be time for him to create his own luck with discipline and hard work.

Real Madrid couldn’t have anticipated all this, and at that time it was the right decision to give that number to Hazard after Mariano. But after these two years, they can definitely learn a lesson that the number seven of Real Madrid isn’t for everyone. The number can be too heavy to handle for some players, given the significance of that number to Madridistas.