Eden Hazard appears to be ready to retire rather than extend his professional career in either the MLS or Saudi Arabia. That’s according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, who says Hazard was already “thinking of retirement” for the last four months.
“I’m signing for the Champions League winner,” Hazard tweeted in 2012. And then he won some more trophies with the Blues, giving the London team his prime years.
The “Belgian Messi” Eden Hazard announced his retirement on Tuesday. The famous number 10 took the Premier League by storm while at Chelsea. His 2018-19 season included a remarkable 16 goals and 15 assists — only three other players have achieved such. The then 28-year-old winger also passed Ronaldo’s 85 Premier League goal record that season.
Zidane signed the “fantastic” Belgian he so admired for Real Madrid during the 2019 summer. Unfortunately, the injury-prone Hazard never lived up to the 100 million euros Los Blancos paid for him from Chelsea.
Due to bad luck or mentality, he never attained the same dazzling dribbling and wizardry he occupied at Stamford Bridge. He didn’t even play a single minute in the famous El Clasico, only playing against Barcelona for the Blues in the Champions League in 2018.
He suffered 18 separate injuries in three seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu, scoring just seven goals and notching 12 assists in 76 appearances.
“You must listen to yourself and say stop at the right time,” Hazard captioned in a lengthy Instagram post. “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.”
Photo: Twitter/CFC_therealmood
