As Real Madrid gets stronger, it does it big, and with a lot of money. The Blancos, who have broken the transfer record five times in history with players like Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, love to bring in players at their peak. But the investment is not always worth it.
Bale and Eden Hazard arrived in a situation similar to Real. The Welshman, who landed at Madrid from Tottenham for 101 million euros, arrived at the club at the age of 24, at the height of his career and after a fantastic season in the Premier League in which he scored 21 goals and netted nine. Bale played a total of 215 games in the Roosters’ uniform, scoring 59 goals and netting 58. Eden Hazard arrived at Blancos at the age of 28 after a record season at Chelsea where he scored 16 goals and netted 15. In total, Hazard played 352 games in the Chelsea uniform in which he scored 110 goals And cooked 92.
The figures of the two in the Premier League are similar. But when you look at the numbers of the two at Real Madrid – the difference becomes significant. In the “A” they compared the two extremists of Madrid who are considered disappointments in the Spanish capital, and compared their numbers after a season and a half at the club. The numbers are in front of you.
Gates and cooking? Not even close
In his first season and a half at Real Madrid, Gareth Bale scored 32 goals. Eden Hazard, on the other hand, scored only three.
In defense of the Belgian it will be said that he played 33% of the minutes in his first season, and in this half of the season he played a total of 16%, most of the deductions due to injuries. The Welshman, on the other hand, played significantly more – in his first season, Bale was a partner in 59% of the minutes and in his second season in 78%. In general, Eden Hazard has so far played in 28% of the possible minutes in the Real Madrid uniform, Gareth Bale compared to a partner in 43% until his release in the summer.
Of money? The problem is similar
The two players won similar contracts in Madrid – 15 million euros per season, which in practice cost Real 30 million euros due to taxation issues. Last season, the two clubs cost 60 million euros – over 13% of the salary of the players at the club.
The duo’s output last season totaled 3 goals and 8 assists in the league in 32 appearances by the two together.
Having loaned Bale to Tottenham for € 28 million and solved, at least temporarily, the “Bale problem”, Madrid are worried about the decline of Eden Hazard. The Belgian, who arrived at the club for 115 million euros, lost a significant part of his value. The extremist is worth 50 million euros today, and at 30 it looks like the trend will continue to be downward.
The coming season will be especially significant for the Czar and Real Madrid, who will want to start reaping dividends from its investment, before it becomes a complete loss.