Eden Michael Walter Hazard was born on 7th January 1991 in La Louvière, Belgium. Starting his club career at Lille at the age of 16, Hazard made over 190 appearances for Lille, scored 50 goals and was awarded Ligue 1 Player of the Year before moving to the Premier League.
In 2012 Hazard transferred to Chelsea for a reported £32m. In his first handful of appearances Hazard made an impact, providing assists and winning penalties. In his first Champions League season he scored in back-to-back games, firmly setting his position as one of Chelsea’s most valuable goal scorers, and finished his debut campaign with 13 goals.
In his time with Chelsea, he made 352 appearances, scored 110 goals and assisted in winning the club two Premier League titles, an FA Cup win, an EFL Cup and two UEFA Europa League titles. Individually, he was awarded with PFA Young Player of the Year, Chelsea Player of the Year on four separate occasions and Premier League Player of the Season to name but a few.
In 2019, Hazard transferred to La Liga side Real Madrid for a reported €100m, Madrid’s most expensive player after Gareth Bale. Despite a difficult start with the club due to injury, Madrid went on to win two La Liga titles, a Copa del Rey, a Supercopa de España and a UEFA Champions League title during his time with the club.
Internationally, Hazard made his first appearance for the Belgian National Team in 2009 after declining French Citizenship and the opportunity to play for France. He made 126 appearances for Belgium and scored a total of 33 goals during his international career.
In October 2023, Hazard announced his retirement from professional football. He goes down as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players and is widely recognised as one of the greatest players of his generation.
