Eden Hazard’s lack of game time for Real Madrid against Barcelona

Four years after landing in Madrid, Eden Hazard has yet to play in a single Clásico. Not a single minute in the nine Real Madrid clashes against Barcelona since joining from Chelsea. He has played more times against Auxerre (8), Sunderland (8) and Valenciennes (8) than against any team in Spain. The Spanish opponents he has faced the most are Elche, Alavés and Atlético Madrid (5).

Hazard missed the first four Clásicos he could have been involved in due to injury. In the 2019-20 season, he missed both games with injury issues and in the following season, 2020-21, déjà vu: he didn’t go to Barcelona due to a muscle tear in his right leg and was not at the Bernabéu either, suffering from a muscle strain.

Carlo Ancelotti didn’t count on him in any of the three games last season and he was left out of the two games so far this season. On some nights, he didn’t even come out to warm up. This is the new reality of a player with a contract until 2024, but who does not count. He is fourth in the current squad with the fewest minutes played (296′), only ahead of Odriozola (78′), Vallejo (67′) and Mariano (56′).

Hazard's nine Clásicos

Rodríguez ahead in pecking order

Things could have turned out for the better for him after Glasgow. That night Karim Benzema was injured, and Ancelotti played the Belgian as a centre forward. He played well against Celtic but after that, he disappointed and Brazil international Rodrygo overtook him on the right, and also became the number one replacement for Benzema in the No 9 role.

Since then, Hazard has only played against Shakhtar and Leipzig, and in Cáceres, where he was substituted. To make matters worse, the emergence of 18-year-old forward Álvaro Rodríguez has taken him even further away from the first team. Thursday will be his tenth Clásico and he will struggle to get game time.