Real Madrid CF may have shot themselves in the foot. As it turns out, the 160 million euros that they paid Chelsea when they signed Eden Hazard in the summer of 2019 may have directly helped the English side knock them out of this season's UEFA Champions League.

It was a sensational signing for Los Blancos, who let go of Cristiano Ronaldo the year before. Unfortunately, Hazard has not lived up to his potential since moving to the Spanish capital. He has suffered a series of injuries and has hardly had enough playing time to make an impact.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid agreed to pay Chelsea in three instalments for his services, an investment that has not yet paid off. The English side received 40m euros in 2019, followed by a second installment of 56m euros. The third payment was somewhere in the vicinity of 64m euros.

Chelsea has made good use of that money, signing Kai Havertz for 80m euros, Timo Werner for 53m euros and Edouard Mendy for 24m euros. Incidentally, these three players were instrumental in Chelsea's victory over Real Madrid in the semi-finals of this season's UEFA Champions League.

Even with all three players combined, their fees are still short by about three million euros compared to what Real Madrid paid Chelsea for Hazard. Meanwhile, the Belgian spent most of the second leg becoming target practice for a very aggressive Chelsea side.

The rest of his time with Los Blancos has not been fruitful either, having just scored four goals in 40 appearances since arriving from Stamford Bridge. Real Madrid fans have lost their patience, and have started lashing out on him. The last straw was perhaps the footage of him laughing and joking with his former Chelsea teammates after Real Madrid got eliminated by the Blues.

Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard during his time with Chelsea Reuters