Eden Hazard: Carlo Ancelotti suggests £89m star can leave Real Madrid after falling out of favour

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has suggested he would allow Eden Hazard to leave the club, insisting he has never forced a player to stay against their will.

Hazard has endured a mixed spell at the LaLiga giants since joining from Chelsea for £89million in 2019, with poor form and several injuries marring his time in the Spanish capital.

As a result, he has lost his spot in the starting XI and been linked with a move away, and his manager is adamant that he will be free to go should he want to.

‘Never in my career as a coach have I forced a player to stay when they want to leave,’ Ancelotti told reporters yesterday. 

‘In my own personal opinion I don’t have any doubts about that.’

Despite being fit for most of this season, Hazard, 30, has made just nine appearances and scored one goal. He was also benched for El Clasico.

Ancelotti insisted that he has never forced a player to stay under him in his managerial career

Hazard has endured a frustrating time at Madrid, with injuries and poor form marring his spell

Both Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo have been relied on heavily by Ancelotti instead of Hazard, and the former is expected to be handed another start against Elche on Saturday.

The last two seasons have been frustrating for the Belgium international. He made just 16 top-flight appearances in his first campaign, although Madrid won LaLiga.

For the next year, Hazard played just 14 times in the league – with the club going trophyless. Under Ancelotti, he has now been pushed further out of the equation.

Further highlighting the dilemma facing Hazard, Ancelotti said that his star man must accept the fact he has slipped down the pecking order. 

The forward has fallen out of favour under Ancelotti and has now been linked with a move away

‘He has absolutely everything but he has to put up with the situation,’ Ancelotti told Spanish media. ‘Right now he has a coach who prefers other players.’ 

His comments all but confirmed that Hazard’s absence from Madrid’s line-ups is not solely down to fitness concerns, and a transfer looks a possibility. 

Marca claimed that Ancelotti ‘poked’ the forward with his comments, while AS alluded to ‘another train for Hazard’ before his cameo against Osasuna in mid-week.

Club legend Fernando Morientes told Sportsmail that the club will not wait forever for the attacker to rediscover his top form, however. 

Spanish daily AS’s front page (left) read ‘Another train for Eden Hazard’; while Marca (right) claimed Carlo Ancelotti’s recent comments ‘poked’ the under-performing forward

‘Madrid tends to be very patient with these types of players,’ Morientes, a three-time Champions League winner with Madrid, said.

‘We know Hazard is very good, but there will probably be a time when Real Madrid will have to make a decision.

‘This year is a decisive year, it’s crucial for him and he will have to demonstrate what he’s got.’

 Hazard has often been reduced to a bit-part role and he was a substitute against Barcelona

Meanwhile, Ancelotti, when questioned on Vinicius, said that he does not believe he has been pushing the young talent too hard.      

‘I don’t think so,’ he added. ‘He’s fine, he’s young and recovers better than others. 

‘If he has a problem or suffers a drop in form then we can rest him. But right now we are very happy with him.’