After saying goodbye to Chelsea in the aftermath of winning the Europa League final, Eden Hazard can already start to look forward to life with Real Madrid. He is expected to sign with the Spanish club and will become their newest star.
After the game the Belgian said: “I don’t know yet [about my future], I think that we will decide in a few days,” Hazard told BT Sport. “My target today was to win the trophy – that’s it.
“I’ve made my decision already, like I said a couple of weeks ago. “Now it depends on the clubs. I’m waiting on both clubs, like how the fans are waiting. You will know in a couple of days. “I think it’s a goodbye, but in football you never know. “My dream was to play in the Premier League. I did this for seven years at one of the biggest clubs in the world, so maybe it’s time for a new challenge.”
Here, we outline 10 fun facts you may not have known about him.
10. Hazard has been a trainee of Lampard, Zidane, and Rudi Garcia: The first coach to ever truly trust Hazard was Rudi Garcia with Lille. He made him a first-team player at Lille and at that point Zidane already knew the Belgian would be a star and recommended his signing to Los Merengues.
The club didn’t make the move and he went to England where Frank Lampard took him under his wing, telling him he had the world at his feet.
9. His favourite number is 10: Throughout his career he has always prefer the No.10 shirt, when he first arrived at Chelsea he took up the number 17 shirt since the number 10 is occupied by Juan Mata but switched to his foavourite number when the Spaniard left for Manchester United in 2014.
As things stands now he shall have to find a new number when he arrives in the Spanish capital with Croatia international Luka Modric unlikely to give his shirt up. It shouldn’t be ruled out that he might take the No.7 for the main time.
8. His record with Chelsea and Lille are amazing: With a brace in what is likely to be his final appearance for the London club, Hazard’s time at Stamford Bridge will be remembered fondly after he scored 110 goals and registered 92 assists which make it 202 goals contribution in his 352 matches. He also won the Chelsea player of the season four times and PFA player of the year once.
While he was in French Ligue 1 with Lille, his brilliance earn the team the league scoring 20 goals and also winning the player of the year twice.
7. He reportedly left an international match to eat a burger with his family: In 2011 there was an act of petulance which threatened to damage the forward’s international standing.
He was substituted off in an international match against Turkey and left the stadium before the match ended. He was then pictured eating a burger with his family.
6. His mother and father was also a footballer: The Hazard family is a footballing family and, in addition to his brothers, Eden’s mother and father both played the sport.
His father Thierry played to a semi-professional level with La Louvière in the Belgian Second Division playing mainly as a defensive midfielder, whilst his mother played as a striker in the Belgian Women’s First Division and stopped playing when she was three months pregnant with Eden.
After playing football, both parents became sports teachers. Thierry retired from his position in 2009 in order to devote more time to his children.
“Every day after school in the garden, play football. At that time my Dad used to play but when we reached 6, 7, all my brothers we wanted him to play as well in the garden, but he was tired so he’d say no. So we used to play, me, Thorgan, Kylian. “When I go on the pitch at Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford, Anfield, it’s like if I’m in the garden with my brothers, I just think that.”
5. He’s an ardent NBA fan, supporting the New York Knicks: Whilst Drake may take all the headlines as the most famous NBA fan, Hazard is a big follower of the New York Knicks and attempts to make it to Madison Square Garden to watch a match at least once a year.
He idolises Kristaps Porzingis, formerly of the Knicks, although he now represents the Dallas Mavericks.
4. He was always a fan of Zinedine Zidane: In moving to Los Blancos, the former Lille prodigy will finally get a chance to work with his idol. He adored Zidane when he was younger, and this is one of the reasons why the 28-year-old is so desperate to represent Real Madrid.
During the 1998 World Cup, a young Hazard wore a French top with Zidane’s name on the back and he supported the hosts as they lifted the trophy in Paris.
“When I was young I always watched Zidane,” the 28-year-old told BT Sport. “Zidane for me was my big inspiration. “I don’t play like him, he’s more elegant, he’s more dribbling, I’m more like Robinho. “On the pitch I wanna be me, I just want to have fun, enjoy, and then we see what happens.”
3. He predicted three of the four World Cup semi-finalists and also Nigeria making it to the second round in Russia: Ahead of the Russian showpiece tournament, the Chelsea forward predicted that France, Belgium, Argentina and England would all make the final four of the tournament. Only Argentina of those four didn’t reach that stage.
In his prediction of teams that will make it to the second round, the Belgium national team captain predicted that the Super Eagles will play against France in the round of 16 but he choose the Les Blues to qualify ahead of Nigeria.
2. He made his national team debut for Belgium at 17 years of age: The Belgian national team has undergone a complete identity change over the past decade and Hazard actually made his debut for them when he was 17 in 2008. He was called upon by manager René Vandereycken for the team’s match against Luxembourg.
Prior to making his national team debut with Belgium, Hazard was courted by French Football Federation officials who sought the player to play for the France national team as he had become eligible for French citizenship. Hazard did not respond to the courtship and later stated: “Because of my presence in France for seven years, I feel 99% Belgian and 1% French, but the idea of French citizenship has never crossed my mind”.
Hazard made his highly anticipated debut for Belgium in the match against Luxembourg coming on as a substitute in the 67th minute for Wesley Sonck. On his debut, Hazard became the eighth youngest international player in Belgian football history, at 17 years and 316 days.
1. His first red card came for kicking a ballboy: In what is one of the more bizarre moments of the Belgian’s career, his first ever red card came as a result of an altercation with a Swansea City ballboy.
With time running down in a League Cup tie, the ballboy held onto the ball to waste time and Hazard kicked him. What was interesting was how in the days following the incident the identity of the youngster came to light, and he had promised to waste time on his Twitter account in the days prior to the fixture.
Thereafter, he told Chelsea TV that he “apologised and the boy apologised” to each other. On 9 February, he scored on his return from suspension in a 4–1 win at home against Wigan Athletic.
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