Cristiano Ronaldo’s strict regime has been questioned by Eden Hazard, who defended his own lifestyle which saw him arrive at Real Madrid overweight.
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Hazard arrived at Real Madrid a stone overweightAdmitted that he was lazyBut questioned Ronaldo's strict fitness regime(C)Getty imagesWHAT HAPPENED?
The Belgian's journey with Real Madrid began in 2019, with the club paying a substantial fee of £88.3 million to Chelsea to make him a Galactico signing at the Santiago Bernabeu. However, Hazard's tenure at Real Madrid was marred by continuous struggles with form and fitness. Now, in a candid admission, Hazard acknowledged that he couldn't emulate the rigorous recovery routines of players like Ronaldo and would rather "play cards and have a beer" after going home.
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Speaking to L'Equipe, Hazard said: "No. That wouldn't have been me. After a match, I wouldn't have spent an hour in a cold bath. Leave me alone, my mates and I go home, play cards and have a beer. I play with my sons in the garden for two hours. That was my recovery. If I'd been like Cristiano – and there are others – I'd have had a burn-out (…) OK, I was lazy. Afterwards, I went to training every day. But I gave so much of myself and took so much in matches that I wouldn't have been able to stand being at full throttle all week, taking knocks. My body wouldn't have done fifteen years, it would have done three."
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The issue of his weight became apparent during the pre-season tour of North America in 2019, with reports indicating that he reported for training around a stone overweight. This sparked friction with the Real Madrid staff as Zinedine Zidane would not have anyone around him who was far from being in shape.
Addressing his over-weight issue, Hazard admitted: "With Chelsea, I'd just finished one of the best seasons of my career. I said to myself, now that I'm at Real Madrid, this is perhaps the last vacation I'll be able to take…
"And I let go of myself like I let go of myself every summer. Seven years in England, without a break at Christmas, giving everything, so when I have three or four weeks of vacation, don't bother me, barbecues, rosé wine… all that. And that's what allowed me to reset myself to start again. Then, Real, it went wrong and that's it."
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Carlo Ancelotti's decision to essentially ostracise him from the team due to his laziness is not unfounded as the player admitted: "They say I was a slacker. But I haven't spent 16 years [as a professional] without training. The little games, the little runs, I was there. It's true that some mornings I arrived without sleeping well, not feeling like it, no desire, and when it's like that, I show it. Don't give me the ball. I'm making a square metre and I'm not moving! I don't move. And I don't move for an hour."