Chelsea midfielder, Saul Niguez, has explained why the club’s former player, Eden Hazard, is struggling at Real Madrid.

Hazard helped Chelsea win two Premier League titles, two Europa Leagues and the FA Cup during his seven-year spell at Stamford Bridge.

The Belgium star scored 110 goals in 352 appearances for Chelsea during his time at the west London club.

The attacking midfielder established himself as a strong fans’ favourite at Chelsea before completing a stunning move to Real Madrid worth more than £100m in 2019.

But Hazard has failed to hit the ground running and continues to underwhelm, having scored just six goals over the past three seasons at Real Madrid.

And Niguez believes Hazard has endured a frustrating spell at the Santiago Bernabeu primarily because it is a ‘totally different game’ in the LaLiga and requires a different skill set.

“They [LaLiga] are totally different. Over there, it is much more tactical, whereas here it is more physical and a bit crazier,” Niguez told Chelsea’s official website.

“There is more back and forth, it’s less about having control of the game and more about entertaining the fans. You can do things here that you really can’t do in La Liga.

“For example, I was talking to my friends the other day about Eden Hazard.

“When he was here, he was easily one of the best players in the world and then he goes to La Liga and has his own difficulties because it is a totally different game.

“Here he had more one-vs-ones and two-vs-ones but in La Liga, because everyone knows how good his team is and how good he is, other teams make it much more difficult for him.

“Here it is happening a bit in reverse, although I think it is a bit easier to adapt from La Liga to the Premier League than from the Premier League to La Liga.”

Advertisement