Eden Hazard has retired, in a shock announcement the former Chelsea and Real Madrid star hung up his boots at 32. Hazard cited, “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. I was able to realize my dream, I have played and had fun on many pitches around the world.”
According to reports Hazard, who left Real Madrid in the summer, did not get any offers that really satisfied him, after four injury plagued seasons at Real Madrid, the midfielder thought the best course of action was to retire.
Hazard goes out a true winner, having won 15 titles across three clubs in his career. In total, Hazard played in 623 games, scored 167 goals, and provided 157 assists. Here are five facts about the career of Eden Hazard.
How many clubs did Eden Hazard play for?
Eden Hazard played for only three clubs in his 16-year career, they were Lille in France, Chelsea in England, and Real Madrid in Spain. Surprisingly despite being from Belgium he never played for a Belgian club, instead began his career in France due to the fact that the French club convinced his parents that Lille was the right choice for their son.
At Lille, Hazard played five seasons winning two titles. At Chelsea, the best of Hazard, he spent seven seasons playing in 352 matches and scoring 110 goals and winning six titles. Then at Real Madrid, where he never completed even half a season, the 32-year-old was there for four seasons and was basically a spectator for his seven titles at the club.
How many World Cups did Hazard play in?
One of the main pieces of Belgium’s “Golden Generation”, Hazard played in three World Cup’s, 2014, 2018, and 2022. Hazard scored three World Cup goals all in 2018 and would go on to score 33 goals for Belgium in 126 caps. Hazard led Belgium to a third-place finish in 2018.
Hazard at Chelsea
The best of Hazard was at Chelsea where he was one of the best players in the Premier League at the time. In the 2014/15 campaign, which Chelsea won, Hazard played all 38 games scoring 14 goals and had 19 in 52 games across all competitions.
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Was Eden Hazard retiring the right decision?
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Real Madrid woes
Hazard’s move to Real Madrid was record setting, being transferred from Chelsea for well over $100 million. Sadly, injuries and coaching choices relegated him to just 76 games in four seasons. Hazard never wanted to leave Madrid as a way to try and break through but eventually the club managers had moved on from the talented midfielder whose best season was 2020/21 where Hazard made 14 appearances and scored 3 LaLiga goals.
Awards
Hazard was Chelsea player of the year in 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2019. He was also the Belgium player of the year in 2017. Hazard was also Ligue 1 player of the year twice.
