Former Premier League club drop surprise message as ex-Chelsea ace Eden Hazard announces retirement
Eden Hazard announced his retirement from football on Tuesday, October 10. The 32-year-old brought down the curtains on his illustrious career, winning 15 major trophies and four individual silverwares.
Taking to Instagram, the former Chelsea attacker wrote:
"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.
"I was able to realise 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.”
Several footballers (former and current) congratulated the former Belgian captain on his retirement, with a surprise inclusion in the comments section - Leicester City.
Eden Hazard, who has scored several important and beautiful goals in his career, hit one in 2016 that helped the Foxes make history in the Premier League.
Chasing their maiden Premier League title, Leicester needed Tottenham Hotspur to drop points against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to secure the trophy. Spurs went 2-0 up at half-time only to be pegged back by Hazard in the next 45.
The Belgian winger struck a sweet curler from outside the box to level the scores, which in turn secured Leicester's fairy tale ending to a fantastic campaign. Possibly hinting at that moment, Leicester sent a good luck message on Hazard's IG post:
“All the best in your retirement, Eden,” along with a trophy emoji.
While Eden Hazard's goal did seal the deal for the Foxes, it should be noted that it was Leicester's consistency and brilliance during that league campaign which played the biggest role in their triumph. The likes of Jamie Vardy, N'Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez dominated the 2015-16 season in the Premier League.
Eden Hazard's career by the numbers
Eden Hazard spent his senior career for three clubs - Lille, Chelsea and Real Madrid.
In Ligue 1, he registered 50 goals and 53 assists in 194 games in five seasons. At Chelsea, he made 202 goal contributions (110 goals and 92 assists) in 352 games in seven seasons. His form at Madrid dropped massively, though, as he only registered seven goals and 12 assists in 76 games across competitions in four campaigns.
In terms of team trophies, Hazard won one Champions League, one FIFA Club World Cup, two La Ligas, two Premier Leagues, one Ligue 1, one UEFA Super Cup, two Europa Leagues, one FA Cup, one Carabao Cup, one Spanish Super Cup, one Copa Del Rey and one Coupe de France.
He won three Player of the Year awards - two with Lille and one with Chelsea. He also won England FA's Footballer of the Year in 2015.