Eden Hazard Retires from Football at 32

Olawale Ajimotokan

Former Chelsea and Real Madrid winger, Eden Hazard, has announced his retirement from football.

He confirmed his decision to retire from the game for good in a lengthy post on his Instagram page yesterday.

Hazard, 32, joined Real Madrid from Chelsea in 2019 for £89m, but played just 54 league games for the Spanish giants and left the club at the end of last season.

He won two Premier League titles during his time at Stamford Bridge.

“You must listen to yourself and say stop at the right time,” said Hazard, who has been a free agent since his contract was terminated in June.

“After 16 years and more than 700 matches played, I have decided to end my career as a professional footballer.”

The Belgian had already retired from international football last December after being part of the squad which was knocked out of the 2022 World Cup during the group stage.

At Real Madrid, Hazard won the Champions League, a Club World Cup, a European Super Cup, two La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey and two Spanish Super Cups. But his time in Spain is widely considered disappointing – he scored just 7 goals in 76 appearances in all competitions.

“One of the greatest players in Chelsea history”, the Premier League club said on their website, adding that “he would always be welcome back at Stamford Bridge”.

Hazard started his career with French club Lille, scoring 50 goals in 149 appearances and helping the club to win a domestic double of Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France in 2010-11.

He moved to Chelsea in the summer of 2012, signing for a reported £32m and went on to become a club great, winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2014-15.

Hazard scored 110 goals across 352 appearances for the Blues, including the winner in the 2019 Europa League final against Arsenal in his final appearance for the club.

He is also one of only four players in Premier League history – alongside Thierry Henry, Matt Le Tissier and Eric Cantona – to score 15 or more goals and provide 15 or more assists in a single season, having netted 16 times and laid on 15 assists during the 2018-19 campaign.