Eden Hazard: How the previous 23 players who went from Premier League to Real Madrid rated in LaLiga
Eden Hazard becomes the 24th player to make the switch from the Premier League to Real Madrid.
His transfer was completed this week in a deal worth up to £150million and he was presented to a 50,000 crowd at the Bernabeu on Thursday.
He follows in the footsteps of some greats such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric as well as some who would like to forget their time in Madrid.
Here at talkSPORT.com we have ranked the other 23 players who have gone from England’s top flight to the Spanish club.
23. Jonathan Woodgate
The new Middlesbrough head coach was a surprise Real Madrid signing when he joined from Newcastle for £13.4million in 2004.
He had to wait a year to make his debut and what a first game it was. He managed to score an own goal before then being sent off.
Woodgate made just 14 appearances in the two seasons he was at Madrid.
22. Julien Faubert
The West Ham right-back was loan to Madrid in 2009 for the second half of the season but made just two appearances.
Eden Hazard joins Real Madrid and is officially announced at the Bernabéu
21. Thomas Gravesen
Another surprise signing of the Madrid Galactico era was that of Everton midfielder.
During two seasons he was in and out of the side and later sold to Celtic for £2million.
20. Nicolas Anelka
Anelka’s time at the LaLiga club was less than successful after a £22.3million transfer from Arsenal in 1999.
Just two goals in 19 league games, and a falling out with Vicente del Bosque, saw him leaving the following summer. He places above Faubert and Graversen because he won the Champions League at the end of that season and scored in both legs of the semi-final.
19. Jerzy Dudek
The goalkeeper moved to Real Madrid in 2007 at the age of 34 with Pepe Reina the number one at Liverpool.
In four years he managed just 12 appearances due to the legendary Iker Casillas’ performances between the sticks.
18. Emmanuel Adebayor
The striker joined on loan from Manchester City for the second half of the 2010/11 season and scored eight goals in 22 games, including a hat-trick on the final day of the league season.
17. Michael Owen
Owen had a slow start to his career in Madrid following his transfer from Liverpool in 2004.
He struggled to score in the early stages of the season but ended with 13 LaLiga goals in his one and only year there.
16. Michael Essien
Jose Mourinho signed Essien on a season-long loan from Chelsea in 2012 after he fell out of favour with Andre Villas-Boas.
He made 35 appearances in total before returning to the Blues the following season.
15. Javier Hernandez
Another striker loaned from the Premier League, this time Hernandez joined on a year-long loan.
He managed just nine goals in 33 games before returning to Manchester United.
14. Lassana Diarra
An £18.88million signing from Portsmouth was perhaps a little surprise as he had previously been sold by Arsenal and Chelsea.
He ended up spending five relatively successful seasons in the Spanish capital before being edged out by Sami Khedira. Diarra won one LaLiga and one Copa del Rey during his time there.
13. Gabriel Heinze
The defender was signed by Real Madrid in 2007 from Manchester United for £8million and won the league title in his first season.
He played a key role in the two seasons he was at the club before leaving for Marseille.
12. Jose Antonio Reyes
The striker was loaned from Arsenal in 2006 for the season.
His most important moment came in the final game of the season when he came off the bench to score twice to help win the league title.
10. Thibaut Courtois
Courtois still has the chance to move up, or down, this list after just one season at Madrid under his belt.
He may have only had eight clean sheets last season but it has been a difficult year for the club and you can expect that to change.
11. Ricardo Carvalho
An ageing Carvalho was a steal at just £6.7million in 2010 from Chelsea.
He ended up spending three seasons with Madrid and won the league title in his second campaign.
9. Alvaro Arbeloa
The defender was a stalwart for Madrid over seven seasons from 2009 to 2016.
He cost just £5million from Liverpool and won one LaLiga title, two Champions Leagues and two Copas del Rey.
8. David Beckham
Beckham may not have enjoyed the success that was billed at the time of his £24.5million transfer in 2003 but was a key part of an exciting Madrid team that contained the likes of Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane.
He lasted just four seasons in the Spanish capital, with one league title, before heading to LA Galaxy in the MLS.
7. Arjen Robben
Robben could have been higher on this list had Real not forced him to leave after just two seasons.
He joined from Chelsea in 2007 for £24million and won LaLiga in his first year. He was a crucial member of the team before being sold to Bayern Munich.
Eight league titles, five German cups and one Champions League title later and Bayern have not looked back.
6. Steve McManaman
Just the second English player to play for the club, with the first being Laurie Cunningham.
He was part of a very successful Real side in the early part of the Millennium where he won two league titles and two Champions League titles in four seasons.
After he left the club, former manager Vicente del Bosque said McManaman and Geremi were the two most important players in that squad.
5. Ruud van Nistelrooy
He may have been 30 when he signed for the Spanish club but he proved to be a great signing for just £11million.
Van Nistelrooy scored 64 goals in 96 games over four seasons and he also won two LaLiga titles.
In his first season, he was the top scorer in LaLiga with 25 goals.
4. Xabi Alonso
Alonso was a £30million signing from Liverpool in 2009 and had five successful seasons with the club.
He was an integral figure and won two Copas del Rey, one league and one Champions League.
3. Gareth Bale
A world-record transfer at the time when he was signed from Tottenham for £85million but he has been worth every penny.
Bale has developed a habit of scoring in big finals for Madrid. He scored in the 2014 and two in the 2018 finals as well as a penalty in the 2015 victory.
During his time in the Spanish capital he has won four Champions League titles, one league and one cup.
He has now scored 102 goals in 231 games and will always be an important part of their history no matter how much his relationship may have soured in recent months.
2. Luka Modric
The playmaker has been incredible for Real Madrid after signing for £30million from Tottenham in 2012.
He has won 13 trophies in those seven seasons and a key figure in those four Champions League wins.
Modric has elevated his game over the last few seasons and was given the Ballon d’Or in 2018.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
There is no argument about who should top this list.
Cristiano Ronaldo may have been a world record signing in 2009 when he joined from Manchester United for £80million but they certainly got value for money.
He scored an incredible 450 goals in 438 games for the club before leaving for Juventus last summer.
Ronaldo won an impressive 15 trophies as well as four Ballon d’Ors during his time in the Spanish capital in one of their most successful eras.
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