Hazard leads the 'Worst Player' award
On February 28, Marca (Spain) newspaper held a vote for the Worst Player award, The Worst as an opposite version of FIFA's The Best award. After about 100,000 online votes, Hazard led with 55% of the votes.
In 2022, Hazard almost "disappeared" on the pitch. Real won La Liga and the Champions League 2021-2022, but the Belgian striker played only 23 matches and contributed 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 striker and the Belgian team had to return home from the group stage.
Hazard also made Real fans angry because of the transfer fee of 110 million USD in 2019 and his salary of 40 million per season. His contract expires in June 2024.
Maguire is ranked second in the poll with 15% of the vote. The 29-year-old midfielder played well at the World Cup, but could not save his performance in a Man Utd shirt. Under coach Erik Ten Hag, the world's most expensive midfielder became a backup for Raphael Varane and rookie Lisandro Martinez.
Dele Alli is ranked third with 9%. After being pushed by Tottenham to Everton on a free transfer in January 2022, the former England international only lasted half a season with 13 matches. Alli moved to Besiktas (Turkey) on loan from the summer, but continued to disappoint with 14 matches.
Fourth place in the poll belongs to Aubameyang with 4%. After moving from Barca in the summer of 2022, the former Arsenal captain only scored three goals in 17 games for Chelsea. Aubameyang is not even on the list of registrations for the 1/8 Champions League round.
Marca's vote has eight other players: Kasper Dolberg (Hoffenheim, 4% of the vote), 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 took the throne with a combined score of 52. He was eight points ahead of second-placed Kylian Mbappe and third-placed Karim Benzema by 18 points. Voters for The Best award are coaches, team captains, journalists and fans.
