Eden Hazard made his mark on the sport with his innate ability to get past defenders with so much ease that he had cemented himself as one of the top players during his glory days. (Image: AFP)
Eden Hazard annouced his retirement from professional football in his Instagram after a 16-year career which spanned all across Europe.
Former Belgian international, Eden Hazard has officially announced his retirement from football on his Instagram handle. The Belgian winger called time on his 16-year-long professional career today. Hazard made his mark on football during his stints with the French club LOSC Lille and Premier League giants Chelsea after which he made the big-money transfer to Real Madrid where recurring injuries plagued his time with the club.
Eden Hazard came into the fore for LOSC Lille where he shined for the club and managed to help secure a Ligue 1 title and the French Cup during the 2010-2011 season. The player finished his time at the club with 50 goals and 53 assists during his time with the club.
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He then moved to play for the Premier League giants, Chelsea in 2013 where he won two Premier League titles in 2015 and 2017. He also won more honours like the Europa League twice, the FA Cup and the League Cup during his time with the Blues. During his time at Stamford Bridge, Hazard was arguably one of the best players in the league as he had the ability to dribble past the best defenders with ease and find the back of the net. One of the best managers, Jose Mourinho, praised him as an ‘amazing player but an awful trainer.’ During his time with Chelsea, Hazard managed to finish with 110 goals and 92 assists in 352 appearances for the club.
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Hazard then decided to take a big step in his career and made the move to Real Madrid in 2019 for 115 million Euros making him the most expensive player in the club’s history at the time. But he did not have similar fortunes with the Los Blancos as injuries finally caught up with the Belgian maestro and he was never able to hit the ground running. With the various injuries that hindered his time at the club, he found himself behind in the pecking order as the Brazillian duo, Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo Goes managed to seal themselves as part of the front three along with Karim Benzema. Hazard managed to find himself on the bench most of the time and did not have an impactful time at the club as he made only 76 appearances for the club during his 3.5-year stint scored only seven goals and made 12 assists.
Hazard ends his illustrious career having won the UEFA Champions League, 2x Europa League, 2x La Liga, 2x Premier League, Ligue 1, F.A Cup, League Cup, French Cup, Spanish Cup and 3 x Player of the Year (2 with Chelsea and 1 with Lille)