Eden Hazard

Eden Michael Walter Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a winger or attacking midfielder for Lille, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and the Belgium national team.

Known for his dribbling and creativity, Hazard is widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation, and one of the Premier League's greatest players ever.

Eden Michael Walter Hazard was born on 7 January 1991 in La Louvière and grew up in Braine-le-Comte.

His mother Carine, and father Thierry, were both footballers.

His father spent most of his career at semi-professional level with La Louvière in the Belgian Second Division, playing mainly as a defensive midfielder.

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 his parents became sports teachers.

Hazard joined Lille in 2005 and spent two years developing in the club's local sports school, due to its youth academy in Luchin not being in operation at that time.

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 Lille 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 season became the first player to win the award twice.

On 28 May 2007, he signed his first professional contract agreeing to a three-year deal with Lille.

Having represented his country at various youth levels, Hazard made his senior debut for the Belgium national team in November 2008, aged 17.

Thierry retired from his position in 2009 to devote more time to his children.

Hazard is the eldest of four children.

In the 2010–11 season, he won the 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 over 190 appearances and scoring 50 goals for Lille, Hazard signed for English club Chelsea in June 2012.

He won the UEFA Europa League in his first season and the PFA Young Player of the Year in his second.

He has three brothers, all of whom play football, including Thorgan, who joined him at Chelsea in 2012.

Hazard's other younger brothers are Kylian and Ethan.

Hazard and his three brothers were raised in a comfortable environment with their parents ensuring they had whatever they needed to excel.

The family lived "no more than three metres" from a football training ground and the brothers often ventured onto a training pitch through a small hole to hone and develop their skills.

Growing up his idol was French midfielder Zinedine Zidane, with Hazard "watching him on television and online for hours".

Hazard began his football career playing for his hometown club Royal Stade Brainois at the age of four.

During his time at the club, one of his youth coaches described him as a "gifted" player.

He added: "He knew everything. I had nothing to teach him."

Hazard spent eight years at the club before moving to AFC Tubize.

While at Tubize, he was spotted by a Lille scout while playing in a local tournament with the club.

The scout's subsequent report on the player prompted club officials to meet with Hazard's father and offer the young player an aspirant (youth) contract.

Hazard's parents accepted the offer from Lille head of academy Jean-Michel Vandamme with hopes that the training facilities in France would be better.

Hazard's father later admitted that the decision to let Eden and, later Thorgan, join clubs in the North of France was the best solution stating "They remained so close to home and, at the same time, they integrated at structures where they could grow, because in Belgium, unfortunately, it's a little empty for the training of youth."

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.

He has since earned over 126 caps, and was a member of the Belgian squad which reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2016, and Euro 2020.

From 2015 to 2022, he served as the captain of the team, including the time Belgium topped the FIFA men's ranking for the first time, which became the longest continuous reign of any European team.

Two years later he won his second English league title as Chelsea won the 2016–17 Premier League.

In 2018, he won the FA Cup, and was named in the FIFA FIFPRO Men's World 11.

At the 2018 World Cup, he captained Belgium to third place which was their best finish in history, receiving the Silver Ball as the second-best player of the tournament.

He won the Europa League again with Chelsea in 2019, scoring twice in the final.

At Chelsea, Hazard established himself as one of the best players in the world.

He 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.

However, injury woes, 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.