Eden Hazard hangs up his boots at 32

Former Chelsea star announced his retirement from the sport on Tuesday.

Eden Hazard has decided to end his football career and the Belgian winger officially announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 32. Insisting that he had managed to live his dream, Hazard brought an end to a spectacular career marked by dazzling skills, tricks and an impressive collection of silverware.

One of the best players in the world between 2012-2019, Hazard’s career took a turn for the worse following his big money move to Real Madrid in Spain. He joined the Spanish giants for a sum of £88.5m from Chelsea but his spell with Los Blancos was constantly wrecked by frequent long-term injuries.

Hazard’s body gave up on him in the latter years of his career and he was only able to make 76 appearances during his four years at the Santiago Bernabeu. Of those 76 appearances, he was able to complete the full 90 minutes of play only on six occasions and was never able to manage it after December 2021.

As a result, he parted ways with Real Madrid following the expiry of his contract this summer and Hazard’s poor injury record also affected his chances of securing a new club. In the end, the winger accepted his physical situation and came to terms with the fact that he could no longer continue in football.

“You must listen to yourself and say stop at the right time,” Hazard wrote in a statement posted on Instagram.

“After 16 years and more than 700 matches played, I have decided to end my career as a professional footballer. I was able to realise my dream, I have played and had fun on many pitches around the world. Thank you to everyone for these great times, I will miss you all.”

Born in Belgium, Hazard first came to the limelight during his time with LOSC Lille in France. He was consistently brilliant for the Ligue 1 outfit and his dribbling, creativity, movement, and ball-striking made him one of the most coveted players in Europe. A move to a big club was on the cards with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Manchester City were all interested in securing the services of the then 21-year-old.

However, he opted to move to Chelsea, with their win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in 2012 being a major factor.

He spent the next six years of his career at Stamford Bridge where he became one of the best players in the world. Hazard was a cheat code in the final third and his dribbling and creativity allowed him to unlock any opposition in the Premier League. Hazard ended up winning two Premier League titles, two Europa Leagues, an FA Cup and a League Cup with the Blues and was even elected the PFA Player of the Year in 2015.

Chelsea went through another period of transition in 2019 and by that point, the consensus was that Eden Hazard had outgrown Stamford Bridge and needed to take a step forward in his career. Real Madrid were the only logical destination but what appeared to be a perfect match on paper, quickly turned into a nightmare.

He suffered 18 injuries during his time with Real Madrid, and many people have pointed out that some of those were due to a lack of dedication on the part of the player to keep himself fit and in shape. His reputation suffered a tremendous hit in Spain and he could never recover his best version.

Despite that, he still managed to play a part in the winning of six trophies, including two La Liga titles and one Champions League. At Lille he also won a Ligue 1 title and the Coupe de France in the same season.

However, it’s his time with Chelsea and the Belgium national team that will be sorely missed. Hazard scored 110 goals for the Blues in 352 appearances while he found the back of the net on 33 occasions for his country and made 126 appearances with the Red Devils. He was instrumental in Belgium’s third-place finish at the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and even captained his country in Qatar last year.

“A special thank you to my family, my friends, my advisors and the people who have been close to me in good times and bad,” added Hazard in his Instagram statement.

“Finally, a huge thank you to you, my fans, who have followed me for all these years and for your encouragement everywhere I have played. Now is the time to enjoy my loved ones and have new experiences. See you off the field soon my friends.”