Eden Hazard Retires From The World Of Football: Now's The Time

Former Real Madrid and Chelsea player, Eden Hazard. (Photo: Instagram/@hazardeden10)

JAKARTA - Eden Hazard made a surprising announcement. The former Chelsea and Real Madrid player decided to retire from football.

The 32-year-old chose not to continue his career after being kicked out of Real Madrid. Hazard announced the news of his retirement himself through his posts on personal social media on Tuesday.

"You have to listen to yourself and say stop at the right time. After 16 years and more than 700 games played, I decided to end my career as a professional footballer," Hazard said.

His season at the Santiago Bernabeu did not go smoothly for Hazard. Shortly joined Chelsea, the Belgian immediately suffered an injury in his inaugural season.

After that, the footballer who was born on January 7, 1991 played only 74 games in all competitions with a record of 7 goals with the Spanish giant despite winning several trophies such as the Champions League, Club World Cup, European Super Cup, one Copa del Rey, two La Liga titles, and two Spanish Super Cups.

This achievement is certainly different when he defended Lille and Chelsea. While playing for Lille, Hazard scored 50 goals in 149 appearances and helped his club win the French League and Coupe de France.

Then when defending Chelsea, the club that made his name victorious, Hazard scored 110 goals in 352 appearances and won two Premier League titles, two Europa League titles, FA Cup, and League Cup.

Meanwhile, at an international event, since his international debut against Luxembourg in 2008, Hazard has had 126 caps for the Belgian national team scoring 33 goals. He has also featured in three World Cups and two European Championships, Euro.

"I would also like to thank the clubs I have defended: LOSC, Chelsea and Real Madrid. And thank RBFA for the selection in the Belgian national team," Hazard said, as quoted by Antara.

"Finally, thank you profusely to you, my fans, who have been around for years and for your encouragement wherever I play."

"Now is the time to enjoy my loved ones and get a new experience. See you off the pitch soon, friends," he concluded.