Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand says he fears Eden Hazard has joined Real Madrid at the wrong time following his big-money move from Chelsea.
The Belgian ace joined the La Liga giants in a deal worth around €100million this summer after a protracted transfer saga, but the former Chelsea man has struggled to make an impact in the Spanish capital as yet.
Hazard had been restricted to one substitute appearance in the league, due to injury troubles in the early stages of the season, while he was making his first start for Real Madrid in the Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain this evening (Wednesday).
But he, like most of his team-mates, failed to impress against the French champions as Real Madrid lost out 3-0 at the Parc des Princes.
Hazard cut a dejected figure at times in the game, and was substituted in the second half, with the score at 2-0.
And Ferdinand said Hazard has work to do to win over the fans and his new team-mates, having been the talisman at Chelsea during the latter stages of his seven years in west London.
“When you go to a new club, especially the size of Real Madrid, you have got to earn the right to be the man that gets the ball, that they look to first as the talisman," he said, speaking as a pundit on BT Sport.
“He has got to do something in the training games and in the games itself, to make them want to give him the ball.
“I’m fearful for him really that he has gone to Real Madrid at the wrong time. This is an ageing side, they are not on the way up and they have not got much spark about them at the moment, and that is going to reflect on him, badly, in the long term.”
