Real Madrid News
Toni Kroos says he has ‘no mercy’ for Eden Hazard or any other footballer
Eden Hazard has endured a torrid time since his move to Real Madrid in 2019. The Belgian has quickly fallen from one of the best in the business to a mere presence on the bench, and his pitiable decline has seen him recieve sympathy from fans across the globe.
Yet, the story does not appear similar within the Real Madrid dressing room. In their recent interviews with Eleven Belgium ahead of El Clasico, both Toni Kroos and Carlo Ancelotti had harsh words for the Belgian star and refused to extend any sympathy for his situation.
The Merengues‘ manager insisted that he owed no favours to any players in his squad, maintaining that his only role in the team was to win games.
“Hazard? I am not here to give everyone minutes, I am here to win. I don’t look a player’s salary or age. I put a team to win games, nothing else.”
Toni Kroos shared his manager’s views and strongly advocated that the former Chelsea man did not require sympathy for the life he was living. Pity, he insisted, was meant for those in desperate situations.
“Maybe I have no mercy for Hazard but he doesn’t have a bad life or is having a bad time. You can feel sorry for people who have a much worse time [not footballers].”
The 32-year-old Real Madrid reject has only played 102 minutes for the club in La Liga this season and made his last appearance back in January. Carlo Ancelotti clearly does not count on the player with even Marco Asensio and Alvaro Rodriguez being ahead of him in the pecking order.
Hazard’s contract at Santiago Bernabeu runs until the summer of 2024. While Los Blancos wish to ship him out this summer, the forward aims to stay for another season to see out his contract.
Manchester City have now joined the ever-growing list of admirers for Celta Vigo midfielder and Real Madrid target Gabri Veiga, reports Jack Gaughan of the Daily Mail.
The 20-year-old midfielder has emerged as one of the breakout stars of La Liga this season, having impressed with his goalscoring abilities from the centre of the park. Indeed, the youngster has notched up nine goals in La Liga and his exploits have made the giants of Europe sit up and take notice.
Real Madrid are said to be interested in Veiga’s services heading into the summer. The Merengues have Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Dani Ceballos on expiring contracts and it is unlikely that all three will be renewed, especially with Jude Bellingham being on the agenda.
In case of Modric and Kroos, even if they stay, it will likely be for only a season at the most. Hence, Los Blancos could require more than one central midfielder come summer, with Veiga emerging as an option.
The 20-year-old was also attracting interest from the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Atletico Madrid. Now, Manchester City have also jumped on the bandwagon of clubs interested in Veiga’s services.
The Cityzens, who are battling Real Madrid for Bellingham as well, are set to lose Ilkay Gundogan in the summer when his contract expires. Meanwhile, Bernardo Silva’s future is also far from certain, thus necessitating the signing of another midfielder.
Veiga has a release clause worth €40 million in his contract with Celta Vigo, which should not be a problem for either Real Madrid or Manchester City.
Celta Vigo president Carlos Mourino recently admitted that the midfielder could leave the club in the summer, saying:
“We don’t want to sell Gabri Veiga, but they are going to buy him from us. And we can’t do anything there. We know some of his offers and it is impossible to reach them.
“There are several teams behind Gabri. Real Madrid? They haven’t asked us, we don’t know if they will have called the player. Of the top 10 in the Premier League, four have asked about him.”
It will certainly be interesting to see whether Real Madrid are prepared to go all out for Veiga’s signing or decide to entirely focus on their pursuit of Bellingham.
