Eden Hazard

Eden Michael Walter Lucien Hazard (French pronunciation: [edɛn azaʁ]; born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a left winger or attacking midfielder. Over the span of his sixteen-year career, he played for Lille, Chelsea, and Real Madrid, and also captained the Belgium national team. Known for his dribbling, creativity, and vision, he is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premier League history.

Hazard began his senior career with Ligue 1 club Lille in 2007 at the age of 16, and soon became an integral part of the team under manager Rudi Garcia. In his first full season, he became the first non-French player to win the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award, and the following year became the first player to win the award twice. In the 2010–11 season, he won the French league and cup double and, as a result of his performances, was named the Ligue 1 Player of the Year, the youngest player to win the award.

After making 194 appearances and scoring 50 goals for Lille, Hazard signed for English club Chelsea in June 2012, winning the UEFA Europa League in his first campaign and the PFA Young Player of the Year in his second. In the 2014–15 season, Hazard helped Chelsea win the Football League Cup and Premier League, earning him the FWA Footballer of the Year and the PFA Players' Player of the Year awards. Two years later, he won his second English league title, playing a key role in Chelsea's 2016–17 Premier League triumph. In 2018, he scored the only goal in Chelsea's FA Cup win, and was included in the FIFA FIFPRO Men's World 11. He won the Europa League again with Chelsea in 2019, scoring twice in the final and being named the competition's Player of the Season. Having established himself as one of the best players in the world while in England, Hazard joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2019 in a transfer worth up to €150 million, making it one of the highest transfer fees ever. Despite lifting a UEFA Champions League title among others during his tenure in Spain, injuries, subpar performances, and a lack of fitness led to him only playing a limited number of games, departing the club in June 2023 and retiring from professional football four months later.