Sitting proudly atop the La Liga table ahead of El Clasico is just about the best position for Real Madrid to find themselves in at this point of the 2021/22 season.
So far in the current campaign, recent reverses against Espanyol and Sheriff notwithstanding, Carlo Ancelotti’s side have looked compact in defence and sharp in attack, with many of their big names already playing at a high level.
Karim Benzema, who was on target for France in the Nations League final on Sunday evening, has continued his good form from last season, with Los Blancos’ only real disappointment being Eden Hazard’s stop-start career at the Santiago Bernabeu.
After getting injured again, this time for Belgium, it appears that Florentino Perez has finally had enough.
According to Sport, another period on the sidelines has as good as sealed his exit from the club, with any funds acquired being put towards the hire of Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland.
The one thing that Real perhaps haven’t countenanced is who will actually buy the Belgian? He is unlikely to come cheap, but no club is going to want to pay through the nose for a player that seems to spend as much on the treatment table as he does on the pitch.
Ever since Hazard signed for Real from Chelsea, supposedly as a new ‘galactico,’ things haven’t gone according to plan.
Including the latest problem, the player has missed 60 games since the switch, per transfermarkt, meaning he’s been out of action for a total of 416 days – and counting.