Former Chelsea forward Eden Hazard has addressed Toni Kroos’s criticism that the Belgian allowed his career to fade away at Real Madrid.

Hazard was sold by the Blues to the La Liga giants for £100m in 2019, but he struggled for fitness and form before leaving the Bernabeu last year. Speaking in June, Kroos gave a less than complimentary assessment of his former teammate’s time in Spain:

“We now also had someone who came for a lot of money and virtually let his career rest. A lot of money and I think everyone would say in retrospect: That was not such a good transfer.”

Speaking on The Obi One podcast earlier this week, Hazard responded to Kroos’s remarks for the first time, saying that he doesn’t take the comments too seriously:

“You know, he [Kroos] came to my house yesterday to pick up his kid. There is no problem with that. John Obi Mikel talked ******* with me and I am still doing his podcast. I don’t care man. They can think what they want. Not a problem. I can sleep.”

Hazard had a disastrous time in Madrid

The Belgian has admitted that he did turn up to pre-season training overweight when he first arrived in Spain, but that wasn’t really the main issue he faced whilst at Real Madrid.

Hazard struggled to stay fit during his four seasons at the club, spending an incredible 500 days on the treatment table, with 18 separate ailments.

He will be remembered fondly for his time at Chelsea

While Hazard’s senior career ended on a sour note, Blues supporters will forever hold him in high regard for his excellent performances during his seven years at Stamford Bridge.

In 352 appearances, he scored 110 goals and provided 92 assists, winning two Premier League titles, two Europa League trophies and one League Cup.