{"id":291914,"date":"2023-10-10T22:16:35","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T22:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=291914"},"modified":"2023-10-10T22:16:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T22:16:35","slug":"eden-hazard-confirms-decision-to-retire-from-football-at-32-years-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/eden-hazard-confirms-decision-to-retire-from-football-at-32-years-old\/","title":{"rendered":"Eden Hazard confirms decision to RETIRE from football at 32-years-old"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Eden Hazard RETIRES from football aged 32 after getting released by Real Madrid this summer as ex-Chelsea star posts emotional farewell message: &#8216;I made my dream come true&#8217;<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Eden Hazard has confirmed his decision to retire from football at 32-years-old\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Former Belgian international has been without a club since leaving Real Madrid\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport&#8217;s podcast It&#8217;s All Kicking Off!\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Eden Hazard\u00a0has confirmed his decision to retire from football at 32-years-old, via a post on social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The 32-year-old has been without a club since he was\u00a0released by Spanish giants Real Madrid\u00a0in the summer, having made just 76 appearances for the club.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Following his Madrid departure, a return to elite-level football looked to be off the cards as Hazard made multiple suggestions he may hang up his boots for good.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The winger did reportedly have\u00a0some English clubs interested in him after leaving Madrid, but concerns about his fitness\u00a0seemed to be a major barrier.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And now, via a lengthy post on his Instagram page, the former Chelsea star has confirmed his decision to retire from the game for good.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/10\/76372627-12613973-image-a-10_1696929986655.jpg\" height=\"438\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Eden Hazard has confirmed his retirement from football at age 32 via a post on social media<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/10\/76373057-12613973-image-a-30_1696930455152.jpg\" height=\"395\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Hazard made a lasting impact at Chelsea during his seven years with the west London side<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/10\/76102259-12613973-Eden_Hazard_remains_a_free_agent_after_Real_Madrid_tore_up_his_c-a-1_1696929326450.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The winger failed to find a new club after being released by Real Madrid during the summer<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CyNmiecNerl\/<\/p>\n<p>A post shared by Eden Hazard (@hazardeden_10)<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>The former Chelsea and Real Madrid star wrote: &#8216;You must listen to yourself and say stop at the right time.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;After 16 years and more than 700 matches played, I have decided to end my career as a professional footballer.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I was able to realise my dream, I have played and had fun on many pitches around the world.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;During my career I was lucky to meet great managers, coaches and teammates &#8211; thank you to everyone for these great times, I will miss you all.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I also want to thank the clubs I have played for: LOSC, Chelsea and Real Madrid; and thank the RBFA for my Belgian Selection.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;A special thank you to my family, my friends, my advisors and the people who have been close to me in good times and bad.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Finally, a huge thank you to you, my fans, who have followed me for all these years and for your encouragement everywhere I have played.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Now is the time to enjoy my loved ones and have new experiences. See you off the field soon my friends&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/10\/76372683-12613973-image-a-21_1696930169022.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The winger came through the ranks at French side Lille before making a move to Chelsea<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/10\/76372619-12613973-image-a-20_1696930149438.jpg\" height=\"429\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>In 253 appearances for the clubs, Hazard scored 110 goals and recorded 92 assists<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/10\/76372623-12613973-image-a-11_1696930031029.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Hazard was instrumental in the Blues winning multiple titles &#8211; including two Europa Leagues &#8211; during his time in west London<\/p>\n<p>Hazard won the Premier League twice and the PFA Player of the Year award at Chelsea, and also secured two La Liga titles and the Champions League with Real Madrid.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, the Belgian winger suffered 18 separate injuries during his spell in the Spanish capital, ruling him out of 95 games for club and country in that time.<\/p>\n<p>This was a complete contradiction to his time at Chelsea, where the Belgian was rarely injured and notched 110 goals and 92 assists in 352 appearances for the Blues.<\/p>\n<p>Despite playing a bit-part role in Madrid, Hazard still managed to claim six titles &#8211; having also won the Copa del Rey, Spanish Super Cup and UEFA Super Cup.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>During his time with the Blues, Hazard also won two Europa League titles, one FA Cup and one League Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On an individual basis, Hazard was named the\u00a0PFA Players&#8217; Player of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season during the 2014\u201315 campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He also won the Chelsea Player of the Year award on four separate occasions after his stunning displays on the wing for the Blues.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/10\/76373189-12613973-image-m-32_1696930671018.jpg\" height=\"483\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Hazard picked up the PFA Player of the Year award in 2014-15 after a stellar campaign<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/10\/76373059-12613973-image-a-33_1696931503530.jpg\" height=\"553\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The winger won two Premier League titles during his seven-year stint with the Blues<\/p>\n<p>Hazard began his career with French side Lille, where he scored 50 goals and recorded 53 assists from 194 appearances.<\/p>\n<p>During his time there, he also won a the 2010-11 Ligue 1 title and the Coupe de France in the same season.<\/p>\n<p>After impressing in France, Hazard then secured a move to west London after the Blues agreed to splash out \u00a332million on the 21-year-old.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On his league debut for Chelsea, Hazard picked up an assist and won a penalty as the Blues cruised to a 2-0 victory over Wigan Athletic.<\/p>\n<p>It was a sign of things to come for the Belgian, who went on to score his first goal for the club just a week later in their league clash with Newcastle.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><font>However, his debut year in England didn&#8217;t go entirely to plan after he was sent off for kicking a ball boy during Chelsea&#8217;s Capital One Cup semi-final defeat to Swansea<\/font><font>.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font>He went on to make 62 appearances in that first season, as he kick-started an impressive legacy at the west London club.\u00a0<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font>Sevens seasons after joining Chelsea, Hazard eventually called an end to his time at Stamford Bridge following their 2018-19 Europa League success.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/10\/76373721-12613973-image-a-34_1696931515398.jpg\" height=\"510\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Hazard was involved in controversy in his debut year after an altercation with a ball boy<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/10\/14121050-12613973-Hazard_initially_tried_to_claim_he_did_not_know_what_was_in_stor-a-35_1696931816694.jpg\" height=\"357\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The winger confirmed his likely Chelsea departure moments after they won the Europa League<\/p>\n<p><font>After scoring a brace in the 4-1 win over Arsenal, Hazard insisted that it was time for &#8216;goodbye&#8217; and later secured a move to Real Madrid in a deal worth up to \u00a3150million.<\/font><\/p>\n<p>Given the lucrative price-tag, Hazard had been expected to make a big impact at Madrid and follow in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo &#8211; who left for Juventus the season prior.<\/p>\n<p>However, Hazard&#8217;s time in Madrid was blighted with injuries &#8211; meaning he made just 76 appearances across four season in Spain.<\/p>\n<p>With seven goals and 12 assists to his name in all competitions, the winger was\u00a0released by Spanish giants Real Madrid in the summer.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/11\/76374265-12613973-image-a-1_1696932579981.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Despite clinching six titles at Madrid, his stint at the club will not be fondly remembered<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12613973\/Eden-Hazard-announces-retirement.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Eden Hazard RETIRES from football aged 32 after getting released by Real Madrid this summer as ex-Chelsea star posts emotional farewell message: &#8216;I made my <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/eden-hazard-confirms-decision-to-retire-from-football-at-32-years-old\/\" title=\"Eden Hazard confirms decision to RETIRE from football at 32-years-old\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291913,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Eden Hazard confirms decision to RETIRE from football at 32-years-old - Sportstoft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/eden-hazard-confirms-decision-to-retire-from-football-at-32-years-old\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Eden Hazard confirms decision to RETIRE from football at 32-years-old - Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta 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