In 2012, Chelsea invested £32m to bring Hazard from Lille, where he had spent four impressive years and helped them win Ligue 1 before Paris Saint-Germain’s era of dominance began.
Hazard was named Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year in his first full season at Lille, becoming the first non-French player to receive the award. ..Continue Reading
The Belgian also became the youngest player to ever win the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award for his exceptional performance during Lille’s title-winning campaign.
Following his achievements in France, expectations for Hazard were high, and he did not disappoint, establishing himself as one of Chelsea’s best and most exciting players over the next decade.
Hazard scored over 100 goals for Chelsea and won six major trophies at Stamford Bridge, including two Premier League titles and two Europa Leagues.
However, Chelsea fans will argue that Hazard should not only be remembered for his statistics, but also as one of the most dynamic and captivating players to ever grace the English top-flight.
Hazard fulfilled his dream move to Real Madrid in 2019 but only made 76 appearances for the La Liga giants over four injury-plagued seasons before being released and eventually retiring from the sport.
For six-time Premier League winner De Bruyne, Hazard remains the most iconic Belgian to ever play in the Premier League and was ‘top-five in the world’ in terms of talent.
In De Bruyne’s view, peak Hazard was only surpassed by Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Neymar in terms of talent.
‘For me it has to be Eden,’ De Bruyne told Sky Sports when asked who he views as the most iconic Belgian to play in the Premier League. ‘He is so, so good.
‘I think, talent-wise, he’s probably like top-five in the world behind Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar. Eden on his day was so, so good.
‘His quality in one-v-one, his dribbling, he never seemed to care, he was just playing football.
‘I played with him since we were both 16 and he’s a really nice guy too. Unfortunately he had the injuries when he came to Madrid and he retired.
‘I spoke to him the other day before the Chelsea game, his son was coming to the game. He’s enjoying his life and I’m happy he’s happy, he was such a talented player.’
As well as starring for a number of domestic teams, Hazard earned 126 caps for Belgium, the fourth-most in history.
