"Best player in the Premier League for 4 years" - Jamie Carragher makes Eden Hazard claim as ex-Real Madrid man retires from football
Retired Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher spoke about Eden Hazard, following the Belgian's retirement from professional football. Carragher declared Hazard as one of the greatest players to grace the Premier League, extolling his virtues.
Eden Hazard announced his decision to retire from football after his contract with Real Madrid was terminated in the summer. The forward had endured a turbulent four-year spell in Spain, with injuries severely limiting his contribution. Hazard missed around 95 games for Los Blancos and Belgium during that difficult spell.
Carragher delivered his thoughts via his X (formerly Twitter) account after seeing various opinions on the career of the former Chelsea man. The pundit revealed that he considers Hazard to have been the undisputed best player in the Premier League for four years. He also sees the Belgian as one of the league's finest players of all time.
Carragher posted on X:
"Interesting seeing the takes on here regarding @hazardeden10 so here's mine! He was the best player in the Premier League for 4 years. Won PFA young player, PFA player & FWP of the year awards. He won every trophy at Chelsea except the CL."
During his last four years at Chelsea, Hazard won the Premier League in 2017, the FA Cup in 2018, and the UEFA Europa League in 2019. In this spell, Hazard weaved his magic on the field and had 61 goals and 45 assists for the Blues.
Carragher also referred to Eden Hazard's performance at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where he led Belgium to a bronze medal.
"He was in my eyes the best performer at the 2018 World cup when Belgium finished third. An all time @premierleague great no doubt & would be in a lot of all time 11’s!"
X users have compared Hazard to various players since the announcement of his retirement, including Bruno Fernandes and Mohamed Salah. Carragher spoke about the disrespect for Hazard, as well, defending the 32-year-old.
"In the past that alone would be enough to be lauded unquestionably but in this day & age people are still not happy with that, as he didn’t win a World Cup or do the business at Madrid," Carragher worte.
Eden Hazard struggled since moving to Real Madrid
After a masterful performance for Chelsea in the 2019 UEFA Europa League final against Arsenal in Baku, Hazard revealed the possibility of leaving the Blues for Real Madrid. The forward had dreamt of playing for the Spanish giants since he was a child, and he joined them for a club-record fee.
Eden Hazard suffered a number of serious injuries during his time in Madrid, including a troublesome ankle injury. The injuries limited him to 76 appearances for Los Blancos since 2019, and he scored seven goals for the side.
Hazard had the best time of his career with Chelsea and the Belgium national team, but struggled at Real Madrid. The forward will surely be remembered as one of the greatest players of his generation.