Every young football fan aspires to play the game, especially one as thrilling as Eden Hazard when he was at his best. On Tuesday, the 32-year-old announced the end of his professional career after the Belgian’s ailments finally caught up to him.
Due to his inability to find a new team and being out of contract after being released by Real Madrid during the summer, Hazard decided to retire from football. The winger’s desire was realized when his team won the Premier League, Ligue 1, La Liga, and the Premier League.
Additionally, for a little moment, it was legitimate to assert that Hazard was the finest player in the world. Yes, there would frequently be fights between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but there was a period when Hazard was unplayable.
Consider the 2018–19 season in the past. Few had heard of COVID-19, much less were ready for what was to come, while Tottenham prepared for a Champions League final at the end of the campaign. France was the global champion after winning an international triumph in Russia.
There are countless adjectives that may be used to define Hazard. The list could go on and on, and each one would be deserving of the words incredible, superb, wonderful, magnificent, and mesmerizing. Hazard often saved Chelsea from failure as they struggled.
Given that he received at least six more players of the match accolades (14) than any other player throughout the 2018–19 season, which was his final one at Stamford Bridge, he concluded the campaign with a WhoScored rating of 7.81, easily the highest in the Premier League. In that season, he was one of just three players to record a double-double with 16 goals and 15 assists, the latter of which was a career-high.
To fully highlight what was an incredible season in a Chelsea jersey, Hazard also finished first for successful dribbles (137) and second to James Maddison for vital passes (98). He had a finished product on top of making it appear simple to slip past defenders.
The Blues knew they had a unique player on their hands as soon as he arrived from Lille in 2012, and that became clear during his sensational final season at Stamford Bridge before his transfer to Real Madrid in 2019.
During his four years in Spain, Los Blancos supporters were unable to see the Belgian wing wizard in his prime, with Hazard ultimately spending more time on the bench than on the field, but there is a reason he’ll be back.