Eden Hazard dismisses Cristiano Ronaldo fitness theory and insists he would rather ‘have a beer and play cards’

Eden Hazard has admitted he would never have followed Cristiano Ronaldo’s fitness regime, as he preferred to kick back with a beer and play cards with his mates.

If you didn’t love the former Chelsea star before, you will now, after a highly-relatable interview where he opened up about his health, fitness, his failed spell at Real Madrid and ultimately his retirement.

Hazard never played in the same team as Ronaldo, who departed the Bernabeu for Juventus the year before the Belgian’s arrival from Stamford Bridge.

And he’s probably glad he didn’t, in fear the Manchester United icon would have tried to get him to follow his insane fitness programme.

The Portuguese icon is famed for his meticulous approach to his fitness, recovery, nutrition and lifestyle - which is a huge reason why he’s starring in the Saudi Pro League and still performing for the Portugal national team at the age of 38.

Meanwhile, 33-year-old Hazard has already hung up his boots having succumbed to his various injury troubles - although he seems to be enjoying retirement.

A transfer from Chelsea to Real Madrid in 2019, for a fee rising to a staggering £142m, was a dream move for the forward who was at the time - and for many fans still is - one of the most gifted footballers English football has ever seen.

But that dream turned into a nightmare in the Spanish capital, where the media focused on his weight, his lack of impact and ultimately a string of successive injuries meant his Los Blancos career never took off.

But it doesn’t appear Hazard would change his approach to things, admitting he could never have followed in Ronaldo’s footsteps when it came to fitness.

In an interview with L’Equipe, he was asked by the French outlet if he would have liked to have had Ronaldo’s mentality and approach, and replied: “No. It wouldn’t have been me.

“After training, soaking in the cold bath for an hour, no. Leave me alone, with my friends, we go home, play cards, have a beer.

“I play for two hours with my friends. Children in the garden. It was my recovery.

“If I had been like Cristiano, I would have been burned out.”

Truly a man of the people.

Hazard also opened up on his weight issues throughout his spell at Madrid, where he was criticised for arriving at the club having piled on the pounds over the summer break.

And he has no regrets about that either.

To be fair to him, Hazard did whip himself into shape, but he was let down by his body and poor injury record.

“With Chelsea, I'd just finished one of the best seasons of my career,” he explained.

“I said to myself, ‘Now that I'm at Real Madrid this is perhaps the last vacation I'll be able to take’. And I let go of myself, like I let go of myself every summer. 

“I spent seven years in England without a break at Christmas, giving everything, so when I have three or four weeks of vacation, ‘Don't bother me’. Barbecues, rosé wine… all that… that's what allowed me to reset myself to start again. 

“Then, Real, it went wrong and that's it."

Asked if he feels now whether leaving Chelsea for Madrid was the right move, Hazard added: “I've been a [Zinedine] Zidane fan since I was a child. The Bernabeu, the white kit... it has a charm that others don't have. Madrid is special.

“Beyond that, I don't think I fit in. It's not like me. It's a bit of a ‘swaggering’ club and I'm not like that. I also didn’t like the way we played if you compare it to other clubs.

“But it was my dream. I couldn't finish my career without coming here.”