Sad end of Eden Hazard career
Having been released by Madrid in June, the Belgian has now confirmed his retirement following a spate of injury problems
How did we get here? Eden Hazard made a massive-money move from Chelsea to Real Madrid in June 2019, and appeared poised to be the next face of La Liga, the latest Galactico to walk out at Santiago Bernabeu and impose himself as one of Europe’s greats.
Ronaldo a year previous, and with Gareth Bale struggling for fitness and Vinicius Jr. yet to find his feet, Hazard seemed set to be Madrid’s winger of the future. And at 28, he still had plenty of football left.
Four years later, Hazard isn’t in a Madrid shirt anymore. He won’t even play football again after announcing his retirement at the age of 32 on Tuesday. The Belgian scored just seven goals, and added a meagre 12 assists during his injury-ravaged spell in the Spanish capital. He only managed 76 appearances and failed to ever better the production of his best season at Stamford Bridge. To say that he was a disappointment was an understatement.
Despite having been their poster boy for over half a decade, Chelsea were effectively powerless to keep Hazard when he left for Real Madrid in June 2019. He had only one year left on his contract, and amid something of a stand-off, Los Blancos were able to swoop in.
The result was a massive initial €100 million (£88m/$107m) transfer agreement, and subsequent €600,000(£530,000/$640,000)-per-week salary.
The Belgian hardly made a good impression at the nexus of his Madrid career. Hazard showed up to training overweight, a fact that served as instant ammunition for social media trolls and sceptics.
He later admitted that he was five kilograms heavier than he should have been, and revealed that he tends to gain and lose weight frequently, especially during pre-season.
His intial performances on the pitch, though, quashed any notions that his fitness would be an immediate issue. Hazard needed a few weeks to bed in, but by October was fit and firing for Los Blancos.
He played crucial roles in a duo of La Liga contests, starring against first Eiber and then Real Sociedad. While he didn’t score or assist in either, the Hazard of Chelsea — mazy dribbles, incisive passes and all — was well on display.
In the weeks that followed Hazard leaving Madrid, there was speculation that the Belgian could seek a move elsewhere. There were reportedly suitors across the globe, from MLS to the Saudi Pro League and across Europe.
But on October 10, Hazard confirmed reports that he would be hanging up his boots three months before his 33rd birthday, saying: “You must listen to yourself and say stop at the right time.”
Given his age, this shouldn’t have been the right time for Hazard to call it day, but his body had other ideas, meaning a potentially legendary career has come to a premature end.
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