Hazard, worse than Bale and Kaka

Eden Hazard already has two absences due to injury since he was diagnosed with his last ailment, a tear in the left anterior rectus that will have him out for another two weeks, at least. He was not in the comeback in Huesca or in Valdebebas against Getafe, both games that Madrid took forward to add six points that keep him in the fight to reach Atlético at the head of LaLiga. This is the Belgian's tenth injury since he landed at Madrid; physical problems are being the usual trend in Hazard's white career, signed in the summer of 2019 in exchange for a fixed € 100 million (and another amount in variables that has not transpired).

So much so that the tagline is already common: Hazard is getting a Bale or Kaka face. Both the Welshman and the Brazilian arrived at Real Madrid after large monetary investments (101 million in the case of the British; 67 in that of the former Milan), but they did not end up dazzling to a large extent due to their repeated injuries. In this, of course, there are differences: Bale won four European Cups and was important in three of them, among other things.; The Brazilian played four years in white and the best he contributed was the League of 100 points, although he was not a starter, surpassed by Özil in the head of José Mourinho.

Minutes, goals, assists …

And the truth is that, today, Hazard has to look up to compare his career in Madrid with that of Bale and Kaká; it presents clearly worse numbers than both. Above all, in terms of disputed minutes, a facet in which the Belgian does not even reach 30%. He has played 35 matches out of 81, 43.2%; in minutes, he played 2,176 'out of 7,350', reducing the percentage to 29.6%, a figure that will continue to drop as Madrid play games in February without Hazard available.

Kaká, who suffered serious pubalgia and knee problems during his white period and also clearly lost the sports battle with Özil, is close to Hazard: 120 games played out of 226 (53%) and 6,888 minutes of 20,430 ', 33.7%. Bale, in this, wins by far (as in the entire comparison, as will be seen later): he played 251 games out of 401 (62.6%) and 17,926 minutes out of 36,300 '(49.4%). Bale's first two seasons at Madrid did not present too many physical problems and there he offered his best level; From the third onwards, the injuries to his punished solos became constant and the downhill began.

In terms of trophies, Bale is the winner again: 16 titles in seven seasons (four Champions League, two Leagues, a Copa del Rey, two Spanish Super Cups, three European Super Cups and four Club World Cups), by three in four Kaká courses (a League, a Cup and a Spanish Super Cup) and two by Hazard in the year and a half that he has been wearing white (a League and a Super Cup, although he did not participate in the latter due to injury ). You can say at least the Belgian who has a better rhythm than the Brazilian, but Kaka could answer that the individual figures of the two cannot be compared, not even close.

Hazard has barely scored four goals and given seven assists for Madrid; he scores a goal every 544 minutes and delivers one every 311 '. Kaká, for his part, did not have much prominence but he took advantage of it quite well at the statistical level: 29 goals and 39 assists, a goal every 237 minutes and a decisive pass every 177 '. Bale, for his part, is the winner again, scoring 105 goals and giving 68 assists: he scored every 170 minutes and gave a goal every 264 '.

Hazard, with time to rectify

The only thing Hazard has in his favor is time: he is the only one of the three who remains active in Madrid, although Bale still has a white contract until June 2022 and next summer, if Tottenham do not want to keep him (most likely), they will return to the Madrid discipline. The Belgian has accumulated these brief numbers in a year and a half; At the age of 30, he has the margin to guide his path.

Bale had seven irregular seasons in Madrid, with very high peaks, quite deep holes and always in the shadow of Cristiano; When the Portuguese was absent, the Welshman had the seams visible. Kaká, meanwhile, did not catch on in four seasons and went free to Milan, where in the 2013-14 academic year he certified that he was no longer for the first level. He went to Orlando to play in MLS, with a loan to his Sao Paulo included, and retired at the end of 2017, leaving in the memory that imposing version of the European champion Milan.