Hazard leads the “Worst Player” award
Eden Hazard received more than three times as many votes as second-place Harry Maguire in Marca’s vote for the worst player.
On February 28, Marca (Spain) held a vote for The Worst player, as a counterpart to FIFA’s The Best award. After about 100,000 online votes, Hazard led with 55% of the votes.
In 2022, Hazard was nearly invisible on the pitch. Real Madrid won La Liga and the Champions League in 2021-2022, but the Belgian striker only played 23 matches and scored one goal. In the first half of the 2022-2023 season, Hazard continued to disappoint with seven matches and one goal. At the 2022 World Cup, the 32-year-old forward and the Belgian national team were eliminated in the group stage.
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Hazard also angered Real Madrid fans with his $110 million transfer fee in 2019 and $40 million salary per season. His contract runs until June 2024.
Maguire is in second place in the vote with 15% of the votes. The 29-year-old defender played well at the World Cup, but couldn’t salvage his performances in a Manchester United shirt. Under coach Erik ten Hag, the world’s most expensive defender became a substitute for Raphael Varane and new signing Lisandro Martinez.
Dele Alli is in third place with 9%. After being sent to Everton on a free transfer in January 2022, the former England international only managed to play 13 matches. Alli moved to Besiktas (Turkey) on loan in the summer but continued to disappoint with 14 matches.
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The fourth place in the vote belongs to Aubameyang with 4%. After moving from Barca in the summer of 2022, the former Arsenal captain scored only three goals in 17 matches for Chelsea. Aubameyang wasn’t even on the list for the Champions League round of 16.
Marca’s vote also includes eight other players: Kasper Dolberg (Hoffenheim, 4% of the votes), Kalvin Phillips (Man City, 3%), Joe Gomez (Liverpool, 2%), Koulibaly (Chelsea, 2%), Lucas Moura (Tottenham, 2%), Zaniolo (Galatasaray, 2%), Bakayoko (Milan, 1%), and Joachim Andersen (Crystal Palace, 1%).
In FIFA’s The Best award, Lionel Messi won with a total of 52 points. He was eight points ahead of second-placed Kylian Mbappe and 18 points ahead of third-placed Karim Benzema. The voters for The Best award included coaches, team captains, journalists, and fans.
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