Real Madrid star Eden Hazard apologized for laughing and joking with an ex-teammate moments after a crucial defeat

Real Madrid star Eden Hazard has apologized to the club's fans for laughing and joking with a former teammate following his side's Champions League semifinal defeat to Chelsea.

Madrid was beaten 2-0 by Chelsea in the semifinal second leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, with goals from Timo Werner and Mason Mount sealing an impressive 3-1 aggregate victory and the Blues' place in the final.

After the final whistle, Hazard, who joined Madrid from Chelsea in 2019, was seen laughing with ex-teammate Kurt Zouma, prompting fierce backlash from the Spanish press.

Soccer chat show host Josep Pedrerol called for the Belgian to leave Madrid immediately, while newspaper MARCA described his actions as "total deception."

"I am sorry," Hazard said in an Instagram story posted on Thursday. "I have read lots of opinions about me today and it was not my intention to offend the Real Madrid fans."

"It has always been my dream to play for Real Madrid and I came here to win. The season is not over and together we must now battle for La Liga! Hala Madrid!"

Madrid is currently tied in a four-way battle for the La Liga title.

Zinedine Zidane's side currently sit second in the table, two points behind leaders Atletico Madrid and level with third placed FC Barcelona with four games to play.

On Saturday, Atletico play against Barcelona, while on Sunday, Madrid faces fourth placed Sevilla in what promises to be the pivotal weekend in deciding the destination of the title.

Zidane says despite the disappointing defeat to Chelsea, his side must now focus all their efforts into finishing the season with silverware.

"We have four games left in the league and we have to recover and be ready to fight for the league title," he said after Wednesday's match.

"It's really important that we do that. We've had a really good Champions League run and we were just one game away from the final.