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Fabrizio Romano on Eden Hazard’s 'incredible' Chelsea career and transfer rejections before retirement

Originally posted on Caught Offside | By Mark Brus | Last updated 10/11/23

Eden Hazard has announced his retirement from professional football, with Daily Briefing columnist Fabrizio Romano paying tribute to his memorable Chelsea career in today’s Substack piece.

The former Belgium international was seemingly considering hanging up his boots for some time, having endured a difficult end to his spell at Real Madrid, and with no summer transfer window move transpiring for him.

Still, according to Romano, Hazard did have some offers, though it seems he was thinking about retirement as early as February and March earlier this year.

It’s a disappointing end to such a great career, with Romano paying tribute to the incredible talent Hazard displayed during his career at Stamford Bridge, where he won two Premier League titles, the Europa League, and other major honours, all whilst scoring some truly stunning individual goals for the Blues.

Responding to the news of Hazard deciding to retire from playing, Romano said: “As you’ll no doubt have seen, Eden Hazard announced his retirement from professional football yesterday after a great career. This follows months of speculation about his future, but what’s the truth?

“He had some possibilities in Saudi Arabia, and just some calls from MLS. But the truth is he was already thinking about retirement since last February/March, when his difficult situation at Real Madrid was never changing.

“It’s a shame to see such an elite player retiring relatively young, just 32, but we have to respect his decision and simply pay tribute to a fantastic talent. For me, he is unquestionably one of the very best wingers to ever play in the Premier League, at his peak he was incredible.”

This article first appeared on Caught Offside and was syndicated with permission.

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