Mourinho must regain Hazard’s trust to salvage Chelsea’s season, keep his star from Real Madrid
After being replaced by Brazilian teenager Kenedy in the 59th minute in Saturday’s 3-1 loss against Liverpool, Eden Hazard allegedly is tired of being disrespected by his manager, Jose Mourinho. The two-time Chelsea Player of the Year has struggled this campaign after being arguably one of the top five players in […]

After being replaced by Brazilian teenager Kenedy in the 59th minute in Saturday’s 3-1 loss against Liverpool, Eden Hazard allegedly is tired of being disrespected by his manager, Jose Mourinho.

The two-time Chelsea Player of the Year has struggled this campaign after being arguably one of the top five players in the world last season. In 11 Premier League appearances, the league’s 2014-15 Player of the Season has zero goals and two assists. His best performance was against Arsenal when he had eight successful dribbles and completed 91 percent of his passes.

SEE MORE: Ancelotti may be an option for Chelsea, but he’s a better fit for Manchester United.

The problem with last campaign’s Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year is that he doesn’t give enough effort to defend and track back. The two-time Champions League-winning gaffer has called out his best player for this a few times in the media and even dropped him for a couple games for his low work rate. Supposedly, Hazard is tired of the treatment.

According to Neil Ashton of the Daily Mail, the 2010-11 Ligue 1 winner would be ready to make a switch to Spain in the summer if Mourinho remains the boss of the Blues:

“The Belgium forward tolerated Mourinho’s consistent references to him as ‘the kid’ in his first two seasons at the club, but they have a clear difference of opinion over their approach to the game. Hazard, among others in the Chelsea squad, is tired of the football politics and criticism, both public and private, that the players have been subjected to by their demanding manager. The 24-year-old is already determined to force a move to Real Madrid next summer if Mourinho remains in charge at the London club beyond the end of the season. Hazard has a long-standing ambition to play for the Spanish giants he supported as a boy. He idolises the great Zinedine Zidane, who is currently coaching their nursery team.”

Zidane was very complimentary of the Blues’ No. 10 in the spring. “Obviously, there is Lionel Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo, both of whom are spectacular, but I like Eden Hazard more. I like everything he does on the field. I like his behavior, his decisiveness and love to see his progress every year,” said the 1998 Ballon d’Or recipient to FIFA.com.

Chelsea is enduring the worst start in Premier League history for a defending champion, only gaining 11 points in 11 matches. The 2010 FIFA World Coach of the Year is rumored to be on the brink of getting bounced out of London. Carlo Ancelotti, who was wrongly fired by Real Madrid, is the favorite to become the seven-time FA Cup winners new coach.

But Mourinho still has time to save his job, and obviously he is great enough to turn his side’s season around. He has to gain the trust of his players to accomplish this, and that begins with Hazard. The two men must find common ground where Hazard will understand his need to commit to defending and Jose will cease criticizing the 2011 Bravo Award recipient in public.

The 52-year-old cannot destroy relationships with key players like he did when he was with Real Madrid. It started with his treatment of goalkeeping legend Iker Casillas, then it was recently reported that Cristiano had to be restrained from attacking Mourinho two years ago after a 2-0 victory over Valencia.

Ironically, the issue that sparked the confrontation was that the four-time European Golden Shoe winner was told to track back by Jose at the end of the match, and the Portuguese international wasn’t following directions. Jose must handle his current, similar situation delicately, or Hazard may be in Madrid next season.