Kroos hinted that Hazard was self-destructing his career.

Midfielder Toni Kroos used Eden Hazard - his teammate who just ended his contract with Real early and is planning to retire - to warn new player Jude Bellingham.

"We had another player who came for a lot of money and basically ruined his career. That deal cost a lot of money, and I think people will say it was not a good transfer. But let's be positive," Kroos said on his personal podcast Einfach mal Luppen on June 14.

According to British newspaper Sportmail , Kroos' statement aimed at Hazard was a warning to Bellingham - the midfielder confirmed to join Real on the same day.

Kroos and Hazard in a training session with Real Madrid. Photo: EFE — Kroos and Hazard in a training session with Real Madrid. Photo: *EFE*

Since joining Real in 2019 for $136 million, Hazard has suffered a rapid decline due to injuries and often faced uncontrolled weight gain. The Belgian winger has never played more than 23 games per season for the Madrid club, and has been relegated to the B team several times.

In total, Hazard has missed 78 games due to injury in the past four years, more than he has played (76), and has scored only seven goals. On June 3, Real announced that they had reached an agreement to terminate Hazard's contract a year early, and that he was considering retirement. The 32-year-old star also retired from the national team after Belgium were eliminated in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup.

On June 14, Real announced that they had reached an agreement with Dortmund to transfer Bellingham. According to the British newspaper Sportmail , the Bernabeu will pay a transfer fee of 110 million USD plus 32 million USD in additional fees depending on the 19-year-old midfielder's performance. Another former club of Bellingham, Birmingham City, will receive 15% of the transfer fee from Dortmund.

Bellingham will be presented by Real at the Bernabeu today, June 15. Photo: Twitter / @RMadrid_actu — Bellingham will be presented by Real at the Bernabeu today, June 15. Photo: *Twitter / @RMadrid_actu*

While Kroos issued a warning, Vinicius welcomed his new teammate with a positive message on social media: "Welcome to the best team in the world , Bellingham".

Bellingham then thanked Dortmund, saying he always cherished the past three years. He stressed that he was honored to wear the Dortmund shirt, and thanked the German club for the opportunity, his teammates, the coaching staff, the board and all the staff. "I joined Dortmund as a 17-year-old boy and left as a man. It was all part of a great development both as a person and a player," he wrote, wishing Dortmund the best.

Bellingham joined Birmingham City when he was just under eight years old, and became the club's youngest ever first-team player when he made his debut in September 2019, aged 16 years and 38 days. In the 2019-20 season, he scored four goals in 44 games, then joined Dortmund for $32.7 million in the summer of 2020, becoming the most expensive 17-year-old in history. In total, he scored 24 goals in 132 games for the Bundesliga club, winning the 2020-2021 German Cup and finishing runners-up in the 2022-2023 Bundesliga.

Bellingham has represented England at U15, U16, U17 and U21 level. Bellingham is the youngest player to play at Euro 2021 at 17 years and 349 days old, replacing captain Harry Kane in the opening match of Euro 2021 against Croatia. At the 2022 World Cup, Bellingham has become a key player alongside Declan Rice, contributing one goal and one assist.

According to Transfermarkt , Bellingham is currently the fourth most expensive player in the world with 130 million USD, only behind Vinicius (162 million USD), Erling Haaland (185 million USD) and Kylian Mbappe (195 million USD).

Hong Duy

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