By Muheeb Mashood
Who could have predicted that the Belgian forward, Eden Hazard would retire as a professional footballer after 16-years of trial at the age of 32?
The superstar was expected to enjoy a culmination of his career in Madrid with his thrilling performance, prior to his move to the Spanish side. Instead, the hitter experienced a nightmare, lingered his dream while cutting his career short. What a tragedy of a crippled career!
The Belgium legend was believed to be the most naturally talented player who played football for entertainment rather than a job. Possibly the greatest ever as believed by his fans. And without a doubt, one of the best players the football world could have ever produced.
Having fun had always claimed the reason that pushed the winger to explore on the pitch. However, on 10 October 2023, Eden Hazard put an end to his football career after the Belgian super hero failed to gain pleasure from the game, the major reason he played football.
Beginning of a New Dawn
Hazard began his football career from his hometown, playing for Royale Stade Brainois at an early age of four years. The future star, then, spent eight years with the club in a shining form before he later moved to AFC Tubize where a Lille scout spotlighted the star during a local tournament.
The scout met with his father and offered a contract to the young lad. Hazard’s father accepted the contract with the belief that “he remained so close to home and, at the same time, he was integrated at structures where he could grow, because in Belgium, unfortunately, it’s a little empty for the training of youth.”
The rising star joined Lille in 2005, spending two years in the club’s local academy before he finally became a professional player with the team in 2007 in a three-years contract.
After a wonderful display in Lille’s academy team, Hazard was promoted to the senior team in 2008-09 under the leadership of coach Rudi Garcia.
He started his senior career with Lille under a regular substitute, coming off the bench. As the time went on, the superstar established his prominence in the team, scoring his debut goal for the team against Auxerre. Thus, he became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the club.
His assured performance convinced the club to offer him a three-year extension contract. The remainder of the season saw Hazard as a regular player for the team under spell performance, and featured among the key men that handed Rudi Garcia’s side a qualification to the UEFA Europa Cup after finishing in the fifth position in that season. Also, Hazard was named Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year, the first non French player to win the award.
After a refusal to move to any team as Arsenal, Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid showed interest in him, Hazard started and ended the following 2009-10 campaign on a positive note. He was nominated for the Young Player of the Year for the second time in a consecutive season. The first player to bag the honor since its inception in 1994. However, he lost the Player of the Year to a Lyon striker Lisandro Lopez.
The 2010-11 campaign saw the Belgian forward enjoy a culmination of his career in the team as he led them to claim double major trophies. The club defeated the French giant PSG 1-0 in a Coupe de France Final at the Stade de France.
In the following week, the revolutionists clinched the Ligue 1 title after a 2-2 away draw against PSG, achieving the club’s first league championship since the 1953–54 season and the club’s first double since the 1945–46 season.
The two domestic trophies were the first titles Hazard won in his career. He won the Ligue 1 Player of the Year, becoming the youngest player to achieve the honor, and was featured in the Ligue 1 team of the year.
Hazard’s Mandate Under Chelsea
The superstar joined the Premier League side Chelsea in 2012 in a €32 million contract. Hazard registered his debut for Chelsea in the FA Community Shield match against Manchester United, where his side was defeated in a showdown that ended 3-2 in favour of their opponent.
Subsequently, Hazard had a fantastic start with Chelsea, registering his first goal for the club in a 2-0 Premier League clash against Athletic Wigan. He also provided multiple assists for his teammates.
Hazard finished his debut for Chelsea with 13 goals after picking up an injury before the end of the season.
The beginning of the 2012-13 campaign saw Hazard playing a vital role in Chelsea’s clash against Bayern Munich during the Super Cup Final that ended in 2-2 before Chelsea suffered a 5-4 in the penalty shootout.
Hazard’s influence at that moment earned him an honor to be featured among the shortlists for the 23-man prestigious Ballon D’Or award.
Due to his excellent form at that time, Chelsea’s manager Jose Mourinho praised him, declaring him as the best young footballer in the world, particularly after his stunning performance that delivered Chelsea a 1-0 victory against Manchester City’s group of death.
After he scored a brace that handed a 4-3 victory to his side against Sunderland, the opponent’s coach Gus Poyet praised Hazard for his individual impact on the game, saying he was “outstanding. He was unplayable, as a manager I haven’t come up against anyone like that.
On 27 April 2014, Hazard won the PFA Young Player of the Year and lost the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award to the Liverpool hitman Luis Suarez. Subsequently in May, the stunner was voted as Chelsea’s Player of the Year, his second year at the club under the managerial leadership of Jose Mourinho.
On 12 February 2015, Hazard extended his contract with the club on a term of a five and half year deal. On 1 March Hazard claimed his first title with the club after a 2-0 victory in a League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in a London Derby against rival Tottenham.
On 26 April 2015, Hazard was named as the PFA Players’ Player of the Year. A week later, his lone goal against Crystal Palace handed his side their first Premier League title since 2010. On 26 May, he was also voted Chelsea’s Player of the Season, second time in a row. Only four players were able to claim this feat: Juan Mata, Frank Lampard, Ray Wilkins, and John Hollins.
Hazard endured a difficult performance in the following season where he almost left the club for PSG, and was able to score only six goals throughout the campaign.
He put up an excellent performance in the next season, equalizing his total goals of his previous season within three matches, and winning man of the match three times in a row along the line. On 18 November 2016, Hazard was named EPL Player of the Month for October.
On 26 December 2016, after a 3-0 victory over Bournemouth, the Belgium International led Chelsea to their 12 consecutive victory in a single season, a new record for the club. He was also named in the EPL Team of the Season, making it the fourth time in his five years in the club.
In the 2018 FA Final against Manchester United, Hazard won a penalty kick for his side which he took and scored in the 22nd minute of the bout. This proved to be the winning goal as Chelsea beat United 1-0 to lift their first ever FA Cup title.
During his final season with the club in 2019, Hazard attained the highest degree of his career. He scored a brace in a 4-1 victory during the UEFA Europa Cup against rival Arsenal. He won several individual awards including Premier League Player maker of the Year, PFA Fans’ Player of the Year. He was included in the ESM Team of the Season for his performances in the 2018–19 season, as well as the FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World 11 for 2018 and 2019. He also won every individual award of the club, the first player to do so.
The Fall of the Hero in Santiago Bernabeu
On 13 June 2019, Hazard was officially unveiled as the Real Madrid player in front of 50,000 spectators in the Santiago Bernabeu, following an approximately €150,000 million deal move, claiming the most expensive signing of the Spanish giant and signed a contract worth €400,000 per week.
Upon arrival at the club, Hazard said: “I’ve dreamt about this since I was little, I always supported Real Madrid” and described it as “a true honor”. He labeled manager Zinedine Zidane as a defining factor for his move, as he had always been an admirer of him.
Hazard made his debut for Los Blancos, coming off the bench in a 3-2 victory against Levante. He registered his first goal for Madrid during a 4-2 victory against Granada while providing an assist for Luca Modric’s goal along the line.
The star rediscovered his form after he completed 38 dribbles and provided two assists in a 5-0 victory against Leganes. However, the superstar began to experience a decline when he suffered a microfracture ankle injury on the 26 September after a challenge by Thoman Meunier during a Champions League group stage match against PSG.
Hazard went on to miss 16 of the Madrid matches across four competitions, which included the first El Clásico of the season, the Supercopa de España victory in Jeddah and the entire Copa del Rey campaign which ended with a quarter-final exit to Sociedad. At the end of the season, he had made 16 league appearances, scoring one goal and assisting six, as Madrid won the 2019–20 La Liga.
Hazard scored his first goal in almost a year in a 4-1 victory over Huesca during his side’s La Liga opener of the season on 20 October 2020. 25th November, he registered his first Champions League goal for the club during a 2-0 victory against Inter Milan. Afterward, Hazard picked up his unstable status for the club.
The 2021-22 saw Hazard in well and respectable performance with a competition from Vinicius Junior, causing him instability in the Carlos Ancelloti first-eleven before he was out of the team when he suffered a minor knock and gastroenteritis.
On 22nd January 2022, Hazard came back to the team after his goal sent his side to the Quarterfinals of Copa Del Rey against Elche. On 25 March, Real Madrid announced that he would undergo surgery to remove the osteosynthesis plate in his right fibula. In April, Hazard won his second La Liga title with Madrid. On 28 May, he lifted his first ever Champions League title as an unused substitute throughout the tournament.
Hazard commenced the 2022-23 season with a motivation to have a positive impact in the club, realizing his previous seasons with the team is unencouraging. On 6 September 2022, Hazard scored his 200th career goal and against Celtic without knowing, that will mark the end of his career goal.
On 3rd June 2023, Hazard and Real Madrid reached an agreement to terminate his contract with the club, scoring approximately seven goals and 12 assists in 76 appearances for the club. He was labeled as the biggest flop for the club.
On 10 October 2023, after three months of his departure from Madrid, Hazard announced his retirement as a professional footballer after 16 years of trial at 32 years.
“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.
“During my career I was lucky to meet great managers, coaches and teammates – thank you to everyone for these great times, I will miss you all,” Hazard said in a social media post.