Roy Keane slams Eden Hazard for being 'overweight' at Real Madrid, claims he doesn't make top 10 Premier League players list

Pundit Roy Keane slammed former Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard, claiming the latter would not feature in a list among the top 10 Premier League players of all time.

The former Manchester United midfielder believes Hazard performed at a high level for about three to four years but failed to recreate his Chelsea form at Real Madrid.

Claiming that the former Blues man was overweight when he arrived at Santiago Bernabeu in 2019 on a £88.3 million deal, Keane said on The Overlap (via Metro):

"I still wouldn’t put him in, with the players you’ve mentioned, the brilliant players in the Premier League, with [Alan] Shearer, [Thierry] Henry, I still wouldn’t put him in that bracket."

Keane continued:

"He didn’t look like he had the full package in terms of his mindset when he went to Real Madrid, you can’t turn up overweight for your first pre-season at the club. It can be difficult to go to any big club but you turn up in the best shape."

"I still think if it’s less than three or four years, I think that’s not long enough when you start talking about other amazing players who have done it for eight, nine, 10, 11, 12 years."

Hazard, who recently announced his retirement at the age of 32, spent seven years at Chelsea, during which he scored 85 goals and assisted 61 in the English top flight. The former Belgium international won the Premier League and Europe League twice each while managing to get his hands on the FA Cup once with the Blues.

However, his final stint in club football with Real Madrid was underwhelming, where he scored just seven goals and assisted 12 times in 76 appearances across competitions.

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Eden Hazard received offers before announcing retirement - Reports

Eden Hazard (via Getty Images)

The former Real Madrid and Chelsea forward Eden Hazard announced his retirement through his Instagram account on October 10. He penned an emotional message, posting a series of images from his career.

However, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano clarified that the Belgium international did receive offers from MLS and Saudi Pro League sides before he retired. Hazard was not convinced by these approaches, as per Romano.

The forward, who has been capped on 126 occasions for Belgium, reportedly drew interest from Premier League clubs Newcastle United and Arsenal earlier this year. However, a return to the English top flight failed to materialize, with Hazard closing the curtain on his professional career.