Eden Hazard‘s ex agent has claimed the Belgian star would have become the best player in the world if he joined Barcelona instead of Real Madrid.
Hazard joined Zinedine Zidane‘s side in a €101m deal from Chelsea at the start of the 2019/20 season, however, despite winning a La Liga title last season, he has struggled for consistency.
Injuries have played a significant part of Hazard’s disrupted time in Madrid, with just 26 league appearances to his name in almost two full seasons.
However, his former representative Jon Bico, who worked with him until the end of his first season in England in 2013, claims it could have been different if he had accepted Barcelona’s advances.
“It was a mistake to go to Real at that time, it was a choice from the heart but with no clear reason,” he told an interview with Belgian outlet La Derniere Huere, as reported via Marca.
“He should have left a year earlier. I would have advised against telling him to go to Madrid last year.
“People do not realise or forget the size of this team that plays with a lot of physical demands in pace and intensity.
“Talents like James Rodriguez have been known not to adapt. At that point, Eden was not a Real player.
“Barcelona is where he should have gone, where the ball runs faster than the players.
“At Barca, he would have had more freedom on the pitch, with the ball constantly at his feet, there he would have become the best player in the world.”
Hazard has been named in Real Madrid’s squad to face his former side in their Champions League semi-final clash in Madrid tonight, but Zinedine Zidane is likely to use him as an impact substitute against Thomas Tuchel’s visitors.
