MX23RW : Wednesday, April 24 14:21:51| >> :120:5183:5183:

Eden Hazard aspires to be a 'Galactico' after completing Real Madrid switch

Eden Hazard aspires to be a 'Galactico' after completing Real Madrid switch
© Reuters
Hazard has signed a five-year contract at the Bernabeu.

Eden Hazard believes he has the platform to try and become "the best player in the world" after signing a five-year deal with Real Madrid.

The 28-year-old Belgium forward has completed his 150 million euro (£130million) move to the Spanish giants from Chelsea after passing a medical in Madrid on Thursday.

Hazard last week revealed joining Real had been a dream of his since childhood and reiterated his desire to win many trophies with the underperforming Blancos, who finished third in LaLiga last season and made an early exit from the Champions League, before turning his focus to personal ambitions.

Following a presentation ceremony and a ball-juggling show on the Bernabeu pitch in front of a rapturous 50,000-strong crowd of Real fans, he undertook his first official press conference.

"I'm going to try to become the best player in the world, but first I wanted to be in the best team in the world," Hazard told reporters. "I'm not a 'Galactico' – I hope to be one day – I am Eden Hazard.

"At Real Madrid you have to win as much as possible and hopefully I can write another page in the history of the club."

Hazard maintained ever since his record-breaking transfer from Chelsea was announced that he was motivated to join Real by a dream shared with his brothers Thorgan and Kylian – now both professional footballers – since their days kicking a ball about in the family garden back in Braine-le-Comte.

Hazard takes a snapshot with  his phone in front of 50,000 Real Madrid fans at the Bernabeu
Hazard takes a snapshot with his phone in front of 50,000 Real Madrid fans at the Bernabeu (Manu Fernandez/AP)

But a key secondary motivation was the presence of former France playmaker Zinedine Zidane as head coach at the Bernabeu – the three-time Champions League-winning manager stepped down in May 2018 but returned this March following the miserable tenures of Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari.

Hazard said: "Everyone knows Zidane has been my idol since I was a child, and him being the Madrid boss was an important factor for me coming here."

He has designs on the 10 shirt – the replica handed to him for official photographs bore a name but no number on Thursday – but joked that current incumbent Luka Modric is not willing to give it up.

"I've been lucky enough to talk to Modric through (Chelsea loanee Mateo) Kovacic and asked him to give me number 10 but he said no," said Hazard. "It's not important to me, it's just important to wear the shirt, with this badge on it.

Following recent setbacks Real appear to be embarking on a major spending spree this summer, adding Lyon left-back Ferland Mendy, Eintracht Frankfurt striker Luka Jovic and Porto defender Eder Militao to their squad, as well as Hazard, now the most expensive ever purchase by the capital club.

The Belgian would not be drawn on rumours that Los Blancos will go back to the Premier League to make a bid for Manchester United's Paul Pogba, or attempt a raid on Paris St Germain for Kylian Mbappe.

Hazard said: "Pogba and Mbappe are among the best players out there and I want to play with the best, but I'm not the one who decides – we'll see what's going to happen in the future."

Real fans may get their first look at him in action for Real when Los Blancos meet Bayern Munich in an International Champions Cup friendly in Houston on July 21. A game against Arsenal follows in Landover, Maryland three days later.

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By James Cann, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'e76e4927-2639-4be7-8fd5-5a4a44dec7aa');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Eden Hazard aspires to be a \u2018Galactico\u2019 after completing Real Madrid switch'});

ID:361956: cacheID:361956:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8638:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Paul Pogba pictured before Manchester United's Premier League meeting with Chelsea on April 28, 2019
Read Next:
Juventus given boost in Pogba chase?
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Result
Munar
Borges
7 6
5 4
Result
Navone
Popyrin
7 6
5 2
Result
Vukic
Daniel
2 77 1
6 61 6
Result
Bouzas Maneiro
Badosa
2 6 6
6 3 3
Result
Davis
Sherif
6 64 4
4 77 6
Result
Putintseva
Yuan
6 6
2 4
Result
Stephens
Trevisan
6 5 6
3 7 4
Result
Zhu
Jimenez Kasintseva
4 3
6 6
Result
Altmaier
Landaluce
6 7
1 5
11.30am
Rinderknech
Shevchenko
Result
Safiullin
Seyboth Wild
4 4
6 6
11.30am
Arango
Anisimova
Result
Sorribes Tormo
Pera
7 6
5 2
11.30am
Zhang
Rogers
Result
Osaka
Minnen
6 6
4 1
Result
Vekic
Siegemund
6 6
1 2
1pm
Darderi
Monfils
1pm
Karatsev
Marozsan
1pm
Van Assche
Bergs
1pm
Linette
Cocciaretto
1pm
Wang
Tomova
1pm
Wang
Dolehide
1.30pm
Dart
Bucsa
1.30pm
Raducanu
Lourdes Carle
2.30pm
Bronzetti
Gracheva
2.30pm
Frech
Cristian
2.30pm
Hibino
Krueger
3pm
Coric
Hassan
3pm
Kokkinakis
Draper
3pm
Nakashima
Bagnis
3pm
Van De Zandschulp
Eubanks
4pm
Baptiste
Saville
4pm
Bejlek
Blinkova
4pm
Errani
Wozniacki
4pm
Montgomery
Avanesyan
4.30pm
Klein
Llamas Ruiz
4.30pm
Burel
Danilovic
5pm
Moutet
Shang
5.30pm
Diaz Acosta
Shapovalov
6pm
Andreeva
Townsend
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Liverpool33228375324374
3Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle321551269521750
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd32155124748-150
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves33127144653-743
12Fulham34126165054-442
13Bournemouth33119134860-1242
14Crystal Palace3399154256-1436
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton33108153448-1430
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3337233188-5716


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!