Eden Hazard retires at age 32

Former Chelsea winger Eden Hazard has announced his retirement from football after leaving Real Madrid at the end of last season.

Hazard, 32, joined Real from Chelsea in 2019 for £89m but played just 54 league games for the Spanish giants.

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

“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” said Hazard.

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.

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.