Real Madrid have confirmed that Eden Hazard will leave the club on a free transfer at the end of the current campaign.
The Belgian, who joined from Chelsea in an enormous deal which could climb up to £150m, has struggled horribly with injuries during his time in Spain and has tumbled right to the bottom of the pecking order.
Hazard’s contract in Madrid still has one year to run but Real have now confirmed the winger will be released from his deal 12 months early.
“Real Madrid CF and Eden Hazard have reached an agreement whereby the player will be released from the club as of June 30, 2023,” a statement read.
“Eden Hazard has been part of our club for four seasons, in which he has won 8 titles: 1 European Cup, 1 Club World Cup, 1 European Super Cup, 2 Leagues, 1 Copa del Rey and 2 Spanish Super Cups.
“Real Madrid wants to express its affection for Eden Hazard and wishes him and his entire family the best of luck in this new stage.”
Real Madrid will end their season against Athletic Club on Sunday, with Hazard heading into the game having racked up just 76 appearances in all competitions for Los Blancos.
The 32-year-old winger, who is one of Real’s top earners, has contributed seven goals and 12 assists during his time in Spain, which quickly turned into a nightmare after Hazard suffered a foot injury early into his debut season.
Several surgeries failed to bring Hazard back to his best form and, by the time he had managed to shake off the injury bug, he had lost the majority of the faith of those in charge at the Bernabeu and struggled for game time.
The former Chelsea winger has appeared just six times in La Liga this season, despite only being unavailable for three matches through injury, and is now just weeks away from bringing his disastrous spell in Spain to an abrupt end.