With Eden Hazard announcing his retirement from football at the age of 32, it brings an end to the career of one of the most talented individuals to have graced European football over the 2010s.
Having spent time in France, England, and Spain, the Belgian forward achieved levels of success that most players could only dream of. With numerous titles both domestically and continentally, as well as plenty of individual honours, it’s hard to argue against Hazard’s reputation, as gifted as he was.
In memory of such an illustrious career, Football FanCast takes a look back at just some of the greatest moments of Hazard’s decorated run in European football since his breakthrough in the late 2000s.
Domestic double with Lille (2010/11)
Since making his way into Rudi Garcia’s Lille side at the age of just 17, it was immediately clear that the French side had an exceptional talent on their hands.
After winning consecutive Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year awards in the 2008/09 and 2009/10 seasons, Hazard’s influence on the side was growing by the year.
The 2010/11 season was the year when Hazard well and truly announced himself to the football world. The Belgian was pivotal for Lille, scoring seven times and assisting a further 11 as they won their first league title since 1954.
As well as the league success, Hazard starred for Lille in the Coupe de France, scoring three times in five games as they secured the domestic double for only the second time in club history – the first time being 65 years prior.
Hazard’s brilliance that season didn’t go unnoticed, as he finally got his hands on the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award, becoming the youngest ever player to do so at just 20 years old.
Winning PFA Young Player of the Year (2013/14)
In a strong debut season with Chelsea in the 2012/13 season, Hazard did enough to remove any doubts over his ability to adapt to a new league, scoring 13 times for the Blues in all competitions.
He didn’t shy away from following it up the next season by exceeding the standards he had set the season prior, as he impressively scored 14 times in 35 Premier League appearances.
Despite Chelsea going trophyless that season, Hazard’s individual performances were worthy enough to win the PFA Young Player of the Year award, beating the likes of Raheem Sterling, Luke Shaw, and Aaron Ramsey to the honour, and missing out on the PFA Player of the Year award to Liverpool’s Luis Suarez.
Winning the Premier League and PFA Player of the Year (2014/15)
With Suarez leaving the Premier League for Barcelona ahead of the 2014/15 season, it allowed Hazard to take the throne as the best player in the league, and he didn’t disappoint.
Having beaten London rivals Spurs to win the League Cup that March, Hazard and Chelsea were hungry for more silverware.
The Belgian contributed to 24 goals in the league that season, as Chelsea were comfortably crowned English champions for the first time in five years.
His efforts across the campaign were justifiably rewarded when he was named the PFA Player of the Year for the first time in his Chelsea career.
Ending Spurs’ title chances (2015/16)
If there were still any fans who doubted Hazard’s status as a Chelsea hero in the making, their minds would have certainly been shifted following his all-important equaliser against Spurs towards the end of the 2015/16 season.
The season as a whole was a huge disappointment for Hazard and the reigning champions, who finished 10th after sacking Jose Mourinho in December 2015. It was made worse for Chelsea, as Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur side were still competing to win their first league title since 1961.
It all came down to matchday 36 of the season, where Spurs had to go to Stamford Bridge and win to keep their title hopes alive.
Dubbed the “Battle of the Bridge”, the two sides fittingly treated fans to one of the feistiest contests in the history of the league, with Spurs taking a 2-0 lead away from home. A goal from Gary Cahill pulled one back for the hosts, but with the full-time whistle approaching, it seemed as though Spurs were about to do the unthinkable and keep the title race going with a rare win at the Bridge.
That’s when Eden Hazard stepped up. With less than 10 minutes to play, the Belgian placed a sensational curling effort into the top corner of Hugo Lloris’ goal, to officially end Spurs’ title hopes and cement his Chelsea legacy for the rest of time.
FA Cup final winner (2017/18)
With the FA Cup final marking the final game of the 2017/18 English season before the World Cup took place that summer, it was the perfect opportunity for Chelsea or Manchester United to end on a high.
With a close game predicted, it was essential for Chelsea’s star man to step up to the occasion when needed.
Hazard didn’t disappoint, and after 20 minutes, he found himself on the end of a wonderful pass from Cesc Fabregas and made his way into the area, before being brought down by Phil Jones and winning a penalty. Hazard, of course, would convert the penalty to give Chelsea the lead early on.
His goal would be enough to separate the two sides and would give Chelsea their eighth FA Cup title.
Captaining Belgium to best World Cup finish (2018)
As a professional footballer, there aren’t many accomplishments more honouring than representing your nation at a World Cup, but Eden Hazard went one further than that.
The Belgian was named the captain of his side from 2015 until he retired from international football in 2022, meaning he wore the armband for Roberto Martinez’s men in the 2018 tournament.
At the time, the Belgium side was filled with extraordinary talent, from Thibaut Courtois to Kevin De Bruyne, and of course, Hazard himself, with the Red Devils favoured to have a strong run in the tournament.
Captained by Hazard, Belgium went as far as the semi-finals, where they were narrowly beaten 1-0 by eventual winners France. In the third-place play-off, Belgium beat England 2-0 to secure the bronze medal, making it their highest finish at a World Cup in the nation's history.
Stunning winner against Liverpool (2018/19)
As far as his goalscoring record went, not many wingers in Premier League history can compete with Hazard in terms of the quality of his finishes. Perhaps the one that stands above the rest was his incredible late winner against Liverpool in the League Cup in 2018.
Only a matter of minutes earlier, Hazard’s free kick resulted in Emerson equalising for the Blues with just over 10 minutes left to play. Entering the final minutes of the 90 with the scores still level, Hazard gained possession by the sidelines with almost every Liverpool player back to defend.
What happened next was a moment of magic from Hazard. The Belgian found his way dribbling through a pair of unfortunate Liverpool defenders, before firing the ball into the far corner from an almost impossible angle, winning the game for Chelsea in the most extraordinary fashion at Anfield.
100th Chelsea goal (2018/19)
One of the most impressive individual accomplishments achieved by Hazard during his time at Chelsea was undoubtedly reaching the 100 goals milestone.
He did so on his 322nd appearance for the Blues in a Premier League fixture against Watford in December 2018 to become only the 10th player in the club's history to reach the iconic number and the first winger to manage the feat.
His tally didn’t spend too long at 100, as he would score his brace to secure the three points for Chelsea on a special day for the player.
Winning the Europa League in final Chelsea game (2018/19)
Towards the end of the 2018/19 season, talk on Hazard’s future was becoming a regular topic amongst the media, although it certainly didn’t affect him, as he recorded his highest goals-and-assists tally in his professional career, with 21 goals and 17 assists in all competitions.
In what would eventually become the final game of his Chelsea career, Hazard signed off in traditional fashion, as the Blues faced rivals Arsenal in the 2019 Europa League final.
His performance that day summed up everything that Eden Hazard was capable of, as he scored twice and assisted another as Chelsea completely dominated Arsenal, winning the game 4-1.
Hazard left as a club legend, with 110 goals and 92 assists in 352 appearances, as well as countless honours won with his team as well as on an individual level.
Signing for Real Madrid (2019/20)
The following summer, Hazard would sign for Spanish giants Real Madrid in a reported £130m move including add-ons.
It’s no secret that his time in Madrid failed to live up to the expectations that had been set from his time in the Premier League, but on a personal level, signing for a club of that stature is a dream for any young player. Hazard was no different, claiming it was his “dream” to play for Madrid at some point in his career.
His four-year spell in Madrid was riddled with injury struggles, which kept him out of the side for prolonged periods on numerous occasions.
Despite the setbacks faced in Spain, Hazard still featured as Madrid were twice crowned La Liga champions and finally got his hands on the Champions League trophy in the 2021/22 season.
