
<p>Eden Hazard is reportedly set to remain at <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/real-madrid-tv-schedule/">Real Madrid</a> until his current contract expires in the summer of 2024. According to <em><a href="https://theathletic.com/4283209/2023/03/08/eden-hazard-stay-real-madrid/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Athletic</a></em>, the Belgian is content to see out his deal despite the lack of playing time.</p>



<p>Real brought in Hazard from Chelsea in the summer of 2019 for around $107 million. Although the playmaker was seen as one of the top players in his position at the time, he has not lived up to expectations. In fact, Hazard has managed just seven goals and 11 assists in 73 total games with the Spanish giants.</p>



<p>This season, he has just one goal and one assist in seven total appearances. </p>



<p>A <a href="https://www.transfermarkt.us/eden-hazard/verletzungen/spieler/50202" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">long list of injuries</a> have hindered the Belgian’s playing time since his arrival to Spain. While most of his setbacks have been fairly minor, Hazard has suffered 17 different injuries in the three-and-a-half years in Madrid. These injuries have caused the midfielder to miss an astounding 78 matches for the club. This means that he has been sidelined for more matches than he’s played while at Real.</p>



<h2>Hazard becomes record most-expensive transfer in Real history</h2>



<p>Buying Hazard from Chelsea cost the club quite a bit in initial fees. The $107 million base fee was just short of the team record set by Gareth Bale. However, add-ons from the Hazard deal have now increased to help surpass the Bale transfer and make the Belgian the most expensive player in Real Madrid history. There were about $60 million in total add-ons, but not all of these stipulations have been triggered.</p>



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<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨🎖| JUST IN: Eden Hazard intends to stay at Real Madrid until his contract expires in 2024. <a href="https://twitter.com/MarioCortegana?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MarioCortegana</a> <a href="https://t.co/WHG4ME97Nz">pic.twitter.com/WHG4ME97Nz</a></p>— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) <a href="https://twitter.com/MadridXtra/status/1633371915397083136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>Along with Hazard and Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Zinedine Zidane round out Real’s top five <a href="https://www.transfermarkt.us/real-madrid/transferrekorde/verein/418" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">most expensive player list</a>. Ronaldo and Zidane were two massively successful legends at the club, while Tchouaméni is currently establishing himself as one of the most highly rated young midfielders in the sport.</p>



<h2>Player’s family, wages big factors in decision</h2>



<p>Despite his struggles, Hazard appears content with staying at the club. The aforementioned report suggests that his family is settled in Madrid. His massive contract, the highest of all players at the team, is a major factor as well. </p>



<p>Lack of playing time under Carlo Ancelotti has put strain on Hazard’s relationship with Real. In fact, the club’s manager has chosen Hazard in his starting XI just once this season during <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/la-liga-tv-schedule/">LaLiga</a> play. While Real will shop their midfielder this summer, Hazard will dig his heels in and remain with the club.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire</em></p>


Eden Hazard has reportedly chosen to remain with Real Madrid until his current contract expires, making him the record transfer in fees.

Hazard becomes Real record transfer, set to stay at club


<p>FIFA has published their annual Global Transfer Report for 2022, with English clubs leading the way in transfers and spending. The worldwide governing body of the sport claims that there was a total of 71,002 total player moves for the year. This includes men and women professionals, as well as youth amateur players as well.</p>



<p>On the men’s side, international transfers totaled a whopping 20,209 during this timeframe. This is an 11.6% increase over 2021. Also, this exceeds figured before the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, 4,770 different clubs from 182 leagues made international transfers.</p>



<p>“The two-year negative trend in clubs’ spending on transfer fees was turned around in 2022, with last year’s total outlay reaching $6.5 billion, an increase of 33.5% compared to 2021, yet still below the all-time high of 2019,” <a href="https:\/\/www.fifa.com/legal/media-releases/fifa-publishes-global-transfer-report-2022-with-all-time-record-setting-numbers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> FIFA chief legal and compliance officer Emilio Garcia Silvero.</p>



<h2>Premier League and English clubs dominate transfers</h2>



<p>Topping the spending charts is perhaps unsurprisingly England. Led by the <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/">Premier League</a>, English clubs spent about $2.2 billion in player transfers during 2022. This was more than three times any other country in the world. Italian clubs finished a distant second in spending with $671 million.</p>



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<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">International transfers of male professional players surpass 20,000 for the first time. FIFA has today published the 2022 edition of the Global Transfer Report<br><br>👉 <a href="https:\/\/t.co/AQibvL59CB">https:\/\/t.co/AQibvL59CB</a> <a href="https:\/\/t.co/49EPS92VxM">pic.twitter.com/49EPS92VxM</a></p>— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) <a href="https:\/\/twitter.com/fifamedia/status/1618597337479380999?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https:\/\/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>Premier League clubs accounted for six of the top 10 transfers during 2022. This includes Darwin Nunez, Antony, Casemiro, Erling Haaland, Alexander Isak and Luis Diaz. The top ten player transfers were responsible for about 12.5% of all spending during this calendar year. And the top 100 transfers accounted for half of the total spending as well.</p>



<h5>Women’s game clearly growing</h5>



<p>Female player transfers were also up significantly as well. The sheer number of transfers in the women’s game has more than doubled since 2018 and has seen an increase of 19% since the previous year.</p>



<p>“All of this reflects the impressive strides being taken as more and more female players continue to turn professional,” <a href="https:\/\/www.fifa.com/legal/media-releases/fifa-publishes-global-transfer-report-2022-with-all-time-record-setting-numbers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">continued</a> Silvero. “Some 1,555 international transfers were recorded in 2022, an increase of 19.3% compared to the previous year, while a new high of 119 associations were involved in international transfers.”</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / PA Images</em></p>


English clubs dominate FIFA's Global Transfers Report for 2022, with total spending exceeding $2 billion this past year.

English clubs spent over $2 billion in player transfers for 2022

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<p>Barcelona’s rebuild of its squad is well and truly up and running. Favorite son Xavi closed the previous season fairly well as head coach. Now, he brings in several new arrivals to put an end to the supporters’ suffering.</p>
<p>However, despite the glitz and glamor of new signings, questions remain over the plausibility of <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/2022/07/16/financial-dilemma-influences-barcelona-summer-spending/">Barcelona’s transfer spending</a>. As of now, Barcelona remains billions in debt. Plus, rumors of differed wages lead to conspiracy theories about the financial dealings of the club. Many fans feel that something dodgy must be going on behind the scenes.</p>
<p>In fact, stories of the club nearing bankruptcy hit the social media circuit. Recent reports of a decrease of over $500 million in yearly revenue do no favors to the skyrocketing debt crisis.</p>
<p>However, not all is as it seems in <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/teams/barcelona-tv-schedule/">Barcelona</a>. These tragic tales of doom and gloom may be pretty far from the mark. Simultaneously, Barcelona readies itself for a resurgence with increased transfer spending.</p>
<h5>A much-needed resurgence</h5>
<p>Yes, on field success has been pretty scarce in recent years. The downturn in revenue, combined with questionable transfer decisions, left the club on shaky ground. LaLiga rules stipulate that clubs can only spend a certain amount of money on players. This figure comes from a club’s current revenue and outgoings. For Barcelona, the club sits at -$150 million. Therefore, the Catalan cannot register any new players until this figure returns to positive figures.</p>
<p>The only way to do that is to create more revenue.</p>
<p>Granted, this seems like an insurmountable mountain. Remember, Barcelona is one of the juggernauts of world soccer. Despite its financial struggles, this is a wildly easier task than it is for other clubs. In fact, it is comparatively pocket change in the grand scheme of things.</p>
<p>So, here are the basics of how Barcelona rebuilds its squad.</p>
<h3>Barcelona working to rebuild its squad</h3>
<p>Firstly, Barcelona restructured its debt. Short-term liabilities became long-term. This provides stability for the club to find its footing. The general connotation of debt is negative. However, when managed properly, it can turn into a positive. Changing the length of the loan reduces monthly repayments. Consequently, the banks will not foreclose and call in the full amount of those debts any time soon.</p>
<p>Secondly, Barcelona wants to reduce its current wage bill. Fortunately, many players took significant pay cuts, often reaching the maximum allowed in LaLiga at 50% of the previous salary. Reason being, many players do not want to leave the club. Frenkie de Jong is the standout case. The Dutchman does not want to leave the club, but does not want to take a pay cut, either. Barcelona likely wants his wages out of the club, and the player is merely collateral for that.</p>
<p>Lastly, and most importantly, is the sale of business assets. When people talk about assets in terms of football clubs they usually think of the players themselves. Yet, a club the size of Barcelona has more to offer the business world than the talent of it’s playing staff. For one, the club <a href="https:\/\/theathletic.com/news/barcelona-sixth-street-tv-rights/PBONoC5Nn8yl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sold off 10% of all TV revenue</a> for the next 25 years for over $250 million. Straight away, this wipes out the -$150 million La Liga stipulated as their squad buying power.</p>
<p>But, the sales do not end there. Currently, club president Joan Laporta is negotiating other business deals to put the club back at the high end of football transfer market. Another 15% of future Barcelona TV deals is up for sale for a reported $330 million. Meanwhile, 49% of the clubs merchandising is going for another $200 million.</p>
<p>This might not be the reading that many Barcelona haters want to see and selling off future earnings may be something of a risk. However, in the short term, these moves more than allow Barcelona the room they need to sign who ever they feel they need this summer and should see them on a more secure financial footing for the next few years.</p>
<p><em>PHOTO: Joan Gosa/Xinhua via Getty Images</em></p>


The Barcelona rebuild is practically all financial. A pit of debt seems insurmountable but is on the right track with trophies in mind.

ALL POSTS TAGGED "spending"

Carlo Ancelotti

Hazard becomes Real record transfer, set to stay at club

England

English clubs spent over $2 billion in player transfers for 2022

Barcelona

Barcelona walking a financial tightrope to rebuild the squad