Eden Hazard’s debut season at Real Madrid was a major disappointment.
The Belgian scored just once and only played in 16 league games after joining the Spanish giants in a €160 million deal.
A thigh injury picked up in training delayed his competitive debut and when he returned to action, Hazard wasn’t the same player that lit up the Premier League with Chelsea.
Photos of the winger looking overweight went viral before the season began and he later admitted that he was five kilograms heavier than he should have been when he signed for Real.
"It’s true," Hazard told L’Equipe. "I’m not going to hide it, but when I’m on vacation, I’m on vacation."
"I had put on five kilos, I’m the type to put on quickly and lose so quickly if I’m careful."
"When I was 18, in Lille, I was 72 or 73kg. Muscle mass was 75kg, on a bad day, 77kg. I was 80kg this summer, I lost it in 10 days."
After acknowledging that he wasn’t in great shape when he joined, you would have expected Hazard not to take any risks with regards to his eating and exercise and to ensure he was trim for the start of the new season.
But according to reports in Spain, he’s returned for pre-season overweight once again.
ABC claim history has repeated itself for the second consecutive year.
The 29-year-old has upset Zinedine Zidane with his condition, with Sport adding that Hazard will need two or three weeks to reach the same fitness level as his teammates.
Hazard didn’t play a single minute for Belgium in their recent Nations League fixtures, with Roberto Martinez confirming that he “wasn’t fit enough” to play in either match.
It’s prompted questions at Real Madrid as to why Hazard didn’t stay in the Spanish capital to work on his fitness.
It's caused many to believe Hazard isn't showing the required commitment to turn his situation around at Madrid, Sport’s report reads.
The reigning La Liga champions believe Hazard should have stayed and worked with fitness coach Gregory Dupont to get in shape for the new campaign.
Instead, he joined the Belgium team for their wins against Denmark and Iceland but didn’t play a minute.