Real Madrid News
Real Madrid set to save around €7 million with forward’s departure – Romano
Real Madrid made the bold decision to terminate the contract of Eden Hazard yesterday. The decision came on the back of a frustrating spell at the Bernabeu for the Belgian winger, who struggled to make an impact since joining from Chelsea in 2019.
Hazard’s spell at the club has been marred by injuries while the player has also struggled to impress when given the opportunity. As a result, he has fallen behind the likes of Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior and Marco Asensio in the pecking order.
But as the highest-paid player in the squad, Hazard was of no use to Real Madrid, who promptly decided to terminate his contract rather than retain him as part of the squad until the end of his contract in 2024.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Real Madrid have saved a figure of around €7 million by terminating the contract of Hazard. This may as a surprise to many, as it was common knowledge that Los Blancos would have had to spend a fortune to do so.
But as per Romano, it appears Hazard has given up a part of his salary that was due, which allowed Real Madrid to make some savings from the contract termination.
With Hazard out, the Spanish giants can now have some leeway in their salary mass to incorporate newer players in the upcoming summer transfer window. This could particularly help the club’s pursuit of Jude Bellingham.
Not to mention, Real Madrid are on the lookout for a new attacker, as Karim Benzema considers an exit from the Bernabeu this season. The Frenchman has received a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia, though Real Madrid are not willing to give up on him just yet.
Real Madrid News
Mourinho talks Carlos Espi, Diomande, Guler, Tchouameni, Atletico Madrid after Elche 2-3 Real Madrid
Real Madrid found another way to win, but Jose Mourinho was hardly celebrating the manner of it.
Carlos Espi’s injury-time strike completed a 3-2 comeback against Elche, rescuing Madrid after they had surrendered control of a game that appeared to be in their hands.
For Mourinho, the result was welcome, but the performance raised a familiar concern.
“When everything seems easy and you let things slide, it’s dangerous. Then the team reacts and wins, but it’s not pleasant.
“The other good thing is that nobody gets bored with these matches. They’re fun,” he began saying.
Mourinho knows what is going wrong
The Portuguese coach was particularly frustrated by another drop in intensity after the interval.
Real Madrid had opportunities to put the game beyond Elche before allowing their advantage to disappear. Mourinho believes that pattern is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
“It seems obvious to me. It’s easy to understand. These are games that are all but over, where we have chances to seal the deal but don’t. After failing to do so, we go from having it easy to losing control.
“If we play poorly from the first minute to the 90th, the concern is huge.
“If we have periods where we’re at our best and others where we’re not proactive, just waiting, lacking intensity… Of course it’s a concern. But we won.”
The win keeps Madrid moving, but Mourinho’s concern is less about the points than the way his team is repeatedly making matches unnecessarily complicated.
Carlos Espi again provided the decisive moment from the bench, although Mourinho knows breaking into the starting XI will be difficult with Mbappé ahead of him.
“He’s a guy who works hard and is very motivated,” Mourinho said.
He then added, “He’s up against a player who’s in a league of his own (Mbappe), and we’re well aware of that.”
Madrid derby comes at a delicate moment
Next up is Atletico Madrid, and Mourinho’s attention is already turning towards the derby.
Rather than focusing on the opposition, he remains concerned about his own side’s ability to manage matches.
“The only explanation I can find is that we can’t keep going like this. We misjudged the opportunities we had, and once they score a goal, everything changes,” explained the Real Madrid coach.
Meanwhile, there were positives to take from individual performances, as Mourinho praised Yan Diomande’s development after another energetic outing.
“He’s improving. Physically, you can tell he has more minutes under his belt. He has a great work ethic and intelligence—he’s done a great job.”
Mourinho refuses to call Guler indispensable
Arda Guler’s importance was also questioned after another fantastic performance, but Mourinho rejected the idea that any player is beyond replacement.
“No, no one is indispensable. We were losing control when I made the substitutions; Vini did a great job on defence, but he was very tired.
“And Arda, who was playing in the number 10 position, was also losing intensity.
“I brought in a fresh Jude and Brahim when we were down 0-2, but I could sense we were losing control. That’s how it goes for us. And then, we brought in the heavy artillery and turned it around.”
Mourinho was also pleased with Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde during Madrid’s strongest spells.
“When the team was playing well, he and Valverde were playing well. They broke through the pressure easily, with skill.
“But the game had two phases—or rather three: one until it was 0–2, another until it was 2–2, and another until the end. They did a good job,” he concluded.
Source: AS
