Former Chelsea winger Eden Hazard has retired from professional football at the age of 32, ten months after he retired from international football.
Hazard has decided to hang his boots after failing to land a new club since leaving record European champions Real Madrid where he had a nightmare of a career.
“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,” Hazard said in an emotional statement.
The former Belgium captain signed for Real Madrid in 2019 from Chelsea in a £89m transfer but just managed to play 54 league games across the four seasons with the Los Blancos.
He was plagued with injuries in the Spanish capital that saw him frozen out of the starting eleven only managing six appearances in his final season.
Despite being unveiled before a mammoth crowd of Real Madrid supporters, Harzard was denied the opportunity to play his final match for Real Madrid and bid farewell to the supporters.
“I was able to realize my dream, I have played and had fun on many pitches around the world.” “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,” his statement adds.
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Hazard joined Chelsea from Lille in the summer of 2012 in a reported £32 million transfer and went on to win two Premier League titles. He turned out for the Blues 352 times and scored 110 goals.
