Eden Hazard Would Need to 'Fight' for Real Madrid Standing, Says Michael Ballack

Former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack thinks Eden Hazard would have to "fight" at Real Madrid to achieve the same "standing" he has at Stamford Bridge, per BT Sport (via Adrian Kajumba for the Mirror). 

Ballack believes the Belgian playmaker's difficult 2015-16 season was evidence that he is a quiet person who can struggle to settle down, arguing that the level of comfort he now enjoys at Chelsea might be difficult to attain in the Spanish capital.

"He did not have a good season last year and sometimes you don’t really know what happens to players," he said. "But it seems to be that he’s a bit of an emotional player who needs support and needs to feel really comfortable with the coach and the team and in his private life as well, so that he can perform."

Hazard is back to his best this season—having amassed 11 goals and five assists in the Premier League—and Ballack does not think the Real target should take his current status for granted.

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"I’m pretty sure if he moved to Real Madrid he would have to fight for that standing again and it would take time because he’s a bit of an introvert," he said, per Kajumba.

Possessing a quiet persona may not be helpful among the galacticos of Real Madrid.

Ballack suggests Hazard should think long and hard about his future considering that he would be giving up a near-perfect situation at Chelsea.

"He’s not a player who talks a lot, and Real Madrid, if you see the players they have, it would be a different situation for him," he added. "At Chelsea he knows what he has, he’s the top player at the club, he lives in a fantastic city. To give that up, he has to decide if he wants that. He’s the key player at Chelsea for the next one or two years."

Real could reportedly bid £100 million for Hazard, per Coral Barry for Metro, but he recently dropped a hint that he intends to remain a Chelsea player for the foreseeable future.

"I have stuff to finish this year. I have a contract until 2020," he said on Mar. 29, per journalist Claude Atcheba (h/t James Benson for the Daily Star). "Voila, for now I'm here."

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His troubled 2015-16 campaign raises doubts about his ability to settle into such a daunting environment as the Bernabeu, although this was not a problem when he first transferred from Lille to Chelsea in 2012.

Hazard created three goals, earned two penalties and scored a goal himself across his first three league games for the Blues, at the beginning of the 2012-13 season. Having hit the ground running, the Belgian went on to score 13 league goals in his debut campaign. In the context of his entire career, last year's form was an anomaly.

Zinedine Zidane looks set to pursue Hazard this summer, and despite only recently returning to his best it remains likely the Chelsea star's "fight" at Real would be a successful one.

For more news, rumors and related stories about Eden Hazard, Chelsea and the Premier League, we recommend checking out the Premier League and Chelsea streams on Bleacher Report's app.