Toni Kroos is confident that Jude Bellingham will prove to be a success at Real Madrid, but warned that Eden Hazard “let his career die” after making a similarly high-profile move to the club.
Real officially announced the signing of Bellingham on Wednesday, with the England midfielder signing a six-year deal at the Bernabeu after leaving Borussia Dortmund for an initial £85.5million. That fee could rise to £115m depending on add-ons.
It is the second-most expensive signing in Real’s history, behind only Eden Hazard, who signed from Chelsea for a fee of £130m in the summer of 2019.
The Belgian will leave Real at the end of this month after agreeing to terminate his contract a year early, bringing an end to a largely miserable spell in Spain that was plagued by injury problems. Hazard managed just 76 matches during those four seasons, scoring only seven goals.
Speaking on his podcast, Kroos backed Bellingham to justify hisfee, though was cautious in getting too excited as he took a dig at Hazard in emphasising that a lofty price tag was no guarantee of success on the pitch.
“We had another player who came for a lot of money and basically let his career die,” Kroos said. “It was a lot of money, I think everyone would say that wasn’t a good transfer. But let’s be positive.”
He added: “Jude is a very top player, who many teams wanted due to his quality and age. I usually have great confidence in our decision-makers. If Real Madrid has spent so much, this is a very good transfer for us.”
