'I'm here to win' - Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti defends decision to keep benching Eden Hazard

LA LIGA 'I'm here to win' - Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti defends decision to keep benching Eden Hazard

David Ben 09:53 - 02.02.2023

The Los Blancos coach took a subtle swipe at Madrid's no.7 after he was quizzed about the former Belgium international's lack of game time.

Eden Hazard has endured a hellish spell of a football career over the last two years.

The 32-year-old Belgian has found game time hard to come by at Real Madrid following a lengthy spell of injuries and inconsistencies with form.

However, his hopes of succeeding at the Santiago Bernabeu could have been dealt another blow after coach Carlo Ancelotti’s recent comments on Wednesday.

Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard

I’m here to win, not to give the players minutes

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti

Ancelotti spoke to the media earlier this week as part of his pre-game news conference ahead of Madrid’s LaLiga clash against Valencia.

The 63-year-old Italian talked about his decision to bench Eden Hazard as well as others players yet to get a sizeable amount of minutes this season.

When questioned about players who aren’t getting minutes during today’s pre-game press conference, he was quoted to have said: “No minutes for Hazard, Mariano, Odriozola, Vallejo? Other players are playing. I’m here to win, not to give the players minutes.” as per The Madrid Zone.

The defending champions face a tricky test at Santiago Bernabeu as they prepare to host Valencia on Thursday night.

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The Los Blancos upcoming itinerary, sees them play in the Club World Cup and also includes away visits to Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Betis, and even Real Sociedad.

Ancelotti’s plan for Eden Hazard revealed

Carlo Ancelotti reportedly has no plans for Eden Hazard this season
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According to a report from Marca, Don Carlo has no special intentions for Eden Hazard, Jesus Vallejo, Mariano Diaz, or Alvaro Odriozola this season. 

This is even though Los Blancos is overseeing one of the club’s smaller rosters in recent memory. 

According to the aforementioned report, the current European and Spanish champions have a first team of only 19 players.

Former Belgium captain Eden Hazard is the most prominent player in the ranks. 

In the summer of 2019, Los Blancos paid close to €115 million to recruit the winger from Chelsea.

However, Hazard has struggled to recreate his Premier League brilliance in Spain owing to recurrent injuries and a lack of consistency.