Eden Hazard retires from football aged 32
Former Real Madrid and Chelsea forward Eden Hazard has closed the curtains on a glittering 16-year career by announcing his retirement from football.
Hazard, widely regarded as one of the best players in the world during his time at Stamford Bridge, completed his footballing career with 622 senior club appearances and 126 caps for Belgium.
Without a club since leaving Real Madrid – whom he joined in the summer of 2019 for £89m – Hazard accumulated just 76 appearances for Los Blancos, completing 90 minutes on only six occasions.
A broken ankle and several other injuries sucked the potential out of one of the finest footballers of the generation. He would, therefore, fittingly begin his message on social media by talking about it.
“You must listen to yourself and say stop at the right time. After 16 years and more than 700 matches played, I have decided to end my career as a professional footballer,” he confirmed.
Hazard came through as one of the most naturally gifted talents at LOSC Lille, racking up jaw-dropping numbers as a teenager. Across 194 appearances for the French side, he smashed 50 goals and recorded 54 assists, winning Ligue 1 YPOTY and POTY twice each.
It wasn’t just about the dribbling or the playmaker in him. Hazard was mature beyond his years; very seldom would he not be in the right place, or miss his finishes in front of goal. Guiding Lille to their first title since 1953/54 meant much more than any other contribution.
And then came Chelsea, beating a host of top clubs to pry Hazard away and lure him to West London.
The Belgian would evolve into a world-class commodity on the footballing scene, amassing over 350 appearances for the Blues, scoring 110 goals with 92 assists.
Two Premier League titles, a League Cup, an FA Cup and two Europa League triumphs underscored the many achievements of Hazard in a Chelsea uniform.
“During my career I was lucky to meet great managers, coaches and teammates – thank you to everyone for these great times, I will miss you all. I also want to thank the clubs I have played for: LOSC, Chelsea and Real Madrid; and thank the RBFA for my Belgian selection,” Hazard continued his social media post.
The 32-year-old thanked all the fans before stating, ever so calmly, that he would enjoy the next stage of his life.
Hazard retires as a legend of the Belgian national team, Chelsea, the Premier League and the beautiful game.
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Aleksandr Osipov. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.