Why ex-scout advised Barcelona against signing young Eden Hazard

Updated: 10 Nov, 2024 • 0 • min read

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Why ex-scout advised Barcelona against signing young Eden Hazard

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Former Barcelona scout Bojan Krkić Sr. has explained why he decided against recommending the club sign a young Eden Hazard.

Before Hazard went off to play for Chelsea and Real Madrid, the Catalan giants had a chance to sign the Belgian talent.

Hazard began his senior career at French outfit Lille, where he had managed to catch the attention of major European clubs.

According to Krkić, father of the forward who played for Barça and Stoke City, the youngster's skill was undeniable, but his attitude was not up to scratch.

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Speaking during an appearance on the Què t'hi Jugues! program on Cadena SER, Krkić explained:

I met him at the U17 European Championship, where my son was playing.

Belgium reached the final, but Spain won. Hazard played wonderfully throughout the tournament, except the final.

Then, he signed for Lille. I went to see him against Montpellier. It was August and in the warm-up there was a player missing, everyone was wearing short sleeves and Hazard came out in a tracksuit.

The team was all together to warm up, he was stretching, he was looking at the stands.

He played well, but in terms of dedication and attitude, I didn't like it.

And his decision not to recommend the signing to the Blaugrana was reinforced in another match he attended.

I went to see him three days later against Angers. He was on the bench, like other starters.

Everyone was warming up and he was walking. The physical trainer told them to stretch and he was watching the game. I put "discarded" in the report.

These types of footballers, who are very good, have shown me that they have not given results - both when they were my teammates and when I was a Barça scout.

My report was: maximum quality, technically and tactically, but due to attitude and personality, with more details, I ruled him out.

As we now know, Hazard eventually signed for Chelsea and became one of the best players in the Premier League's modern era.

In his prime, the former winger was one of the best players in the world and that led to a big money move to Madrid in 2019.

However, injuries severely hampered his time at the Spanish capital and in the end, he retired from the game aged 32 in 2023.

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