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Here are 10 of the most memorable moments of Eden Hazard’s career as he retires from football.
Eden Hazard has called time on his professional football career through a statement he released on his official social media accounts.
The announcement was followed by an outpouring of tributes from the football world with players, managers and clubs all paying homage to the talented Belgian who is retiring at 32 years old.
This has led many to reminisce on Hazard’s career, reliving some of his great moments but what are some of the very best?
It is hard to narrow down the moments considering Hazard had so many of them but here they are in chronological order of how they happened.
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10 memorable moments of Eden Hazard’s career
1. The double at Lille
Eden Hazard scored 12 goals and recorded 14 assists in the 2010/11 season to help Lille win the French League and Cup double for the first time in 65 years.
He was instrumental in that historic season for Lille where he also won the first of two Ligue 1 Player of the Season awards.
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Hazard was given free rein by manager Rudi Garcia and was the captivating focal point of Lille's historic success that year in which he completed an incredible 205 dribbles—one for each 15 minutes he played on the field.
2. The Tweet
By the end of the 2011/12 season, Hazard had been named Ligue 1 Player of the Season again and was strongly linked with a big move away from France.
There was a lot of speculation regarding his next move as a host of Europe’s elite clubs were all interested in signing the then-21-year-old.
As you most likely already know, Eden Hazard chose to join Chelsea in the summer of 2012 and announced that decision with a simple but iconic Tweet.
On May 28, 2012, the Belgian tweeted, “I'm signing for the champion's league winner,” a week after Chelsea had defeated Bayern Munich to win their first Champions League title.
For those who are unclear why this is so iconic, this was way before the Fabrizio Romano eras, transfer sagas were not usually ended dramatically on Twitter, especially not by the player involved.
3. Dream Chelsea debut
Chelsea paid £32 million to sign Hazard and he did not need too much time to prove them right with a great Premier League debut.
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Hazard teed up Branislav Ivanovic's opener after a signature spin 110 seconds into the game against Wigan before winning a penalty which Frank Lampard converted.
Hazard ended his debut as the man of the match in a 2-0 win which turned out to be the start of something special.
4. First career hat-trick
On February 8, 2014, Hazard scored his first career hat-trick in a 3-0 home win for Chelsea against Newcastle which was also his first in the Premier League.
The Belgian winger scored two first-half goals which were assisted by Samuel Eto’o and Branislav Ivanovic after which he sealed the hat-trick in the 63rd minute via a penalty.
5. Hazard’s dominant 2014/15 season
Hazard had two great opening seasons in England but it was really in his third season that he truly hit world-class level.
He played all 38 Premier League games and scored 14 goals and recorded 10 assists to help Chelsea win the Premier League for the first time in five years.
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Hazard also won the PFA Player of the Year award and Premier League Player of the Season awards for 2014/15.
Chelsea sealed the title with a 1-0 win at home to Crystal Palace on May 3, 2015 thanks to a goal scored by Hazard.
6. Battle of the Bridge
Hazard would once again decide the Premier League title the very next season with a goal, only this time it was in favour of Leicester City.
The Foxes famously won the 2015/16 Premier League title against all odds and the title was sealed in a game between Chelsea and Tottenham which ended 2-2 at Stamford Bridge.
The bad-tempered contest was dubbed 'The Battle of the Bridge' because of the high intensity with which both teams approached what was a win-or-bust game for Tottenham.
Although the game had no significance to Chelsea who were nowhere near the title race, Hazard admitted prior to kickoff, "We - the fans, the club, the players - don't want Tottenham to win the Premier League. We hope for Leicester because they deserve to be champions."
7. Solo goal against Arsenal in 2016/17
Hazard is known for his dribbling and wonderful solo goals, most especially that one against Arsenal in which he took on the entire team.
Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-1 on February 4, 2017, and Hazard scored the second goal, dribbling past the entire team and taking all comers having received the ball at the centre circle.
The goal is widely regarded as one of Hazard’s very best which is great for a player with such a wide catalogue of incredible goals.
8. Amazing performance for Belgium at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Belgium won the bronze medal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and it was largely down to Eden Hazard’s exploits in Russia.
Hazard scored three goals and assisted twice in seven games, especially in the quarter and semi-finals against Brazil and France respectively in which he put up superb performances and was the best player on the pitch.
9. Solo goal against West Ham in 2018/19
Another Eden Hazard solo goal, this time in April 2019 at home to West Ham in a Premier League game which Chelsea won 2-0 with the Belgian scoring both goals.
His first goal in the 24th minute grabbed all the headlines as Hazard showed superb skill to get past three West Ham players before lashing home.
His second goal to seal the 2-0 win was his last ever Premier League goal and the last time he ever scored at Stamford Bridge.
10. Europa League final against Arsenal
Hazard’s last-ever goal for Chelsea was poetically against their biggest rivals Arsenal, a team he frequently tormented during his time in London.
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The Belgian magician scored a brace and assisted another goal in the 2019 Europa League final which Chelsea won 4-1 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
He said his goodbyes to Chelsea immediately after that man-of-the-match performance and then left for Real Madrid.
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