Eden Hazard reveals the truth behind turning up overweight at Real Madrid – and explains REAL reason he actually believes made him a £100m flop: ‘I put on five kilos EVERY summer… and I love beers!’

Eden Hazard has revealed his weight problems as a footballer during a new podcast episode with former Chelsea teammate John Obi Mikel.

Mikel’s Obi One podcast has signed some big names from the past two decades of Blues history, including former manager Jose Mourinho and ex-players John Terry and Frank Lampard.

In the latest episode published on Monday, Belgian winger Hazard, 33, revealed some of the problems he had with his weight and fitness during his professional career.

Hazard withdrew from the game in October, revealing he had quit because he was ‘not having fun on the pitch anymore’ after being released by Real Madrid.

He responded bluntly to the stories that circulated shortly after he signed for the Spanish giants, stating that he had found himself out of shape for pre-season.

After joining Real Madrid, stories circulated that he was always out of form in pre-season

Hazard made the revelations in a new podcast episode hosted by John Obi Mikel (left)

“It was true,” Hazard said while talking about the Obi One podcast. “But me, every summer I gained four or five kilos, because I thought that for ten months you give so much, push your body to the highest level and people kick you, so your free time is your free time.

‘Don’t ask me to do anything. I enjoy being with my family and going to the beach, so don’t ask me to go running in those three or four weeks. I can play football on the beach with my kids, no problem, but don’t ask me to run.

“But if you look at my whole career, the first month (of the season) is the part where I thought it was just the beginning, and then I flew from September and October because I needed time to rejuvenate my body and my mind to bring into balance. the best way.

‘So yes, it’s true, I came back after the holidays with five kilos, I knew it.

‘As Belgians we love beer because my country has the best beers in the world, so I won’t say I drank every day because that’s not true, but sometimes one or two after a good match is nice. .’

In his four years at Madrid, Hazard scored just seven goals in 76 appearances for the Spanish giants as he was hampered by multiple injuries and failed to reproduce the form that made him one of Europe’s best players at Chelsea.

Hazard revealed that he himself was recuperating after ankle surgery during Covid

Hazard (right) insisted he pushed himself to get back to his best condition but faced major problems after returning to training post-Covid

Hazard made just 76 appearances for Real Madrid in four years before retiring in 2023

But despite admitting he arrived at the Spanish giants overweight, Hazard insisted there wasn’t much more he could have done to improve his time at the club and opened up about why things really went so wrong.

Asked if he could have done things differently to get off to a flying start at Madrid, Hazard replied: ‘I don’t think so. I think I was a bit unlucky with that period with Covid because if you want to know the real story, I went to Dallas to do the operation on my ankle, then I came back to Madrid and it was Covid.

‘I suffered from Covid for two to two and a half months, I was alone at home, no physio to rehabilitate. I did my rehabilitation alone. If I had to choose one thing to change, I should have said to the doctor: “bring a physio, I need a good rehabilitation”. I have to do it because I want to play at the highest level.

‘And when the Covid was over, we came back on the field, I pushed my body like crazy, but my ankle wasn’t the same anymore and then the next season I break everything and then you know the story.

‘If you want me to change one thing, call the physio ‘come home, I know it’s Covid but please come home, I need rehab’. And at that moment it could be different.’

Hazard was further pressed over whether Madrid could have given him more help in his recovery, but he defended his former club.

‘Back then people weren’t allowed to go out on the streets or to work, and I didn’t put pressure on the physio or the doctor to say ‘oh come on, I need someone’. For me, during my rehab, I did a few exercises, a few things on my own. For me it was enough, I didn’t think I needed to do anything more.

‘In the beginning I didn’t think I should do more. After two months I think “oh yeah, I should do more”, but at first it went well, I did my thing, I go for a little run outside, I do some exercise and it wasn’t too bad, but then I came back to the field and I felt it.’

Reflecting on whether he knew immediately he was in trouble after returning to action, Hazard admitted: ‘Yes, yes, yes. After that period with Covid, we got back on the field and still had two months to play until the end of the season.

‘And we were so close to the championship title, so I said to Zidane: ‘I want to push, I want to go’, and the day we became champions I said: ‘No, I can’t do more, I’m done . “My body is suffering a lot, so I have to recuperate well, but it was already the end of the season.”

Hazard’s years of success at Chelsea saw the Blues win two Premier Leagues and one FA Cup

On the podcast he also talked about the coach he didn’t like working under at Chelsea

Hazard’s seven years of success at Chelsea saw the Blues win two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cups and two Europa League trophies.

Elsewhere on the podcast, which was released on Monday morning, the Belgian spoke about his international teammate Kevin De Bruyne, Chelsea’s current challenges under Mauricio Pochettino, and the way Jude Bellingham has handled himself since arriving at Real Madrid.

Hazard also revealed the one coach who could get the best out of him, selecting a manager he struggled to work with at Chelsea.

He also had an unexpected former Blues name as his choice for the most talented footballer he had ever worked with ‘by far’.

Eden Hazard does speaking on the Obi One Podcast.