Hazard reveals he never wanted Ronaldo’s number 7 at Real Madrid: “I thought he’d say, ‘OK, you can have it,’ but he didn’t”

Eden Hazard became part of Real Madrid history the moment he arrived at the club. The Belgian forward was signed with huge fanfare in the summer of 2019 on a five-year deal worth around $108 million. It was one of the biggest transfers of the era, with Madrid paying a premium to bring him in from Chelsea.Yet once he landed in Spain, Hazard still had to earn his place inside the locker room hierarchy.

The Real Madrid number Hazard really wanted

One example of that came with the shirt number selection. Hazard did not get the jersey he truly wanted. In an interview with Canal+ France, the former Belgium international revealed how the situation unfolded. Even though he never wanted to inherit Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous No. 7 shirt, he ultimately had little choice.

“I didn’t want the No. 7. I wanted Luka Modric’s No. 10,” Hazard said with a laugh. “I asked him for it and thought he’d say, ‘OK, you can have it,’ but he didn’t give it to me. He didn’t do it.”

The Belgian also made it clear he never viewed himself as Cristiano Ronaldo’s replacement at the Santiago Bernabéu. Hazard insisted the comparison came more from the media than from his own expectations.

“It wasn’t a burden to follow Cristiano at Madrid because, in my opinion, I wasn’t there to replace him,” he admitted.

“It was the media saying I was going to replace Ronaldo. I think I had a completely different style of play from his. I couldn’t score 60 or 70 goals a year. In fact, in my whole career, I barely scored that many. So really, my style of play was completely different.”

Hazard explained that his intention was simply to succeed on his own terms rather than live in Ronaldo’s shadow. The former Chelsea star arrived hoping to be himself, but injuries prevented him from ever reaching his expected level in Madrid.

“I went there to play as Eden, not to replace Cristiano. But, as often happens, things didn’t work out well,” he concluded.

Hazard’s time at Real Madrid was ultimately defined by injuries, with repeated physical setbacks preventing him from becoming the dominant figure many expected after his arrival from Chelsea.

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