Former Chelsea midfielder Gus Poyet felt Eden Hazard joined Real Madrid a year too late.

Poyet has bemoaned the fact that Eden Hazard didn't join Real Madrid in the summer of 2018, which is when Cristiano Ronaldo departed.

Instead, the Belgian stayed at Chelsea for another season before making the switch, but his time in Spain has been plagued by injuries thus far.

"It hurts me a lot in this case. The year Cristiano Ronaldo left was the ideal time to replace him, he had had a great season with Chelsea," Poyet told Radio MARCA.

"When Hazard arrived in Madrid, he suddenly looked older. I don't think the style of play is the problem with this player, neither is the mentality; I would say that it's physically.

"He has paid the price for some physical problems that have not allowed him to return and have meant he has not returned to his best conditions.

"One of my maxims as a coach is to put players on the pitch with minimal or no excuses, and I don't think Hazard has ever been like that. There was always some excuse: he was at 60 percent, the team was not good....

"It's not Zidane's fault, the player is depending on himself to face this great challenge of turning it around."