Real Madrid star slammed as a ‘passenger’ at World Cup

Real Madrid have a number of players representing their national teams at the World Cup. Some are doing a great job while others might not be having as good of a tournament. One player who seems to be struggling at the moment is Eden Hazard, who is captaining the Belgium national team, and they are in danger of being knocked out from the group stage itself.

It is safe to say that Belgium were not one of the favourites going into this World Cup, as had been the case the last time around. But even then, nobody could have expected them to look this off colour.

They were the second best team in the game against Canada and escaped with a 1-0 win on that occasion. That did not happen against Morocco though, who defeated the Red Devils by a 2-0 scoreline. It means that they now pretty much need to win their final group stage game, against Croatia, to qualify for the next round.

Hazard has barely played for Real Madrid leading up to the tournament. And while he has started both games for Belgium, he really has not done a lot going forward. So much so that he has been described as a ‘passenger’. While speaking on ESPN FC, Craig Burley said about the national team captain:

"“The guy can barely play more than 45 to 60 minutes. And even when he does play, he is a passenger.”"

Real Madrid star slammed as a ‘passenger’ at World Cup

It is safe to say that Hazard is no longer the player that he once was. We have seen enough proof of that in the royal white jersey.

One injury after another have meant that he has barely played over the past three-and-a-half years. And that kind of inactivity has certainly taken its toll on him.

At Chelsea, he was without a doubt one of the best in the world and there is a reason Real Madrid shattered their transfer record to sign him. It might be time to accept though that that version of Hazard simply does not exist anymore.