Thorgan Hazard

Thorgan Ganael Francis Hazard (born 29 March 1993) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and winger for Belgian Pro League club Anderlecht and the Belgium national team.

While in the club's youth academy, Hazard played for the Lens under-16 team, alongside players such as Geoffrey Kondogbia and Raphaël Varane, that won the 2008–09 edition of the Championnat National des 16 ans 44.

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

Hazard has three other siblings.

His older brother, Eden, played for Lens' biggest rivals Lille, subsequently finding his best form when playing for Chelsea and last played for Real Madrid in Spain.

Hazard's other younger brothers are Kylian and Ethan.

On 7 April 2010, Hazard signed his first professional contract after agreeing to a three-year deal until June 2013.

Ahead of the 2010–11 season, Hazard trained with the senior team during the pre-season.

On his pre-season debut, he scored a goal in a 1–1 draw with Belgian club Roeselare.

However, Hazard began the season with the club's Championnat de France amateur team in the fourth division.

He made his amateur debut on 8 August 2010, appearing as a substitute in a 2–0 victory over Drancy.

However, Hazard did not feature in the match and finished the 2010–11 campaign with no senior team appearances.

After spending most of the season playing concurrently with the reserve team in the CFA and with the under-19 team in the Coupe Gambardella, on 9 May 2011, Hazard was named to the senior team for the first time on 11 May in a Ligue 1 match against Bordeaux.

Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Hazard was promoted to the senior team permanently and assigned the number 22 shirt.

He made his professional debut in Lens' opening league match of the season against Reims, appearing as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 defeat.

He played 14 league games that season.

Hazard began his professional career at Lens in Ligue 1, and moved to Chelsea in 2012 shortly after they had signed his older brother, Eden.

On 24 July 2012, Chelsea confirmed on its website the club had agreed terms with Lens for the transfer of Hazard, soon after the signing of his brother Eden from Lille.

He made his debut on 17 August 2012 in an Under-21 Premier League match, a 0–0 home draw against Manchester City in what was to be his only appearance in Chelsea colours before leaving the club.

Having previously played at every level in the Belgian national youth team system, he was handed his first senior international cap against the United States in May 2013.

He never played a competitive match for Chelsea, being loaned for two years to Zulte Waregem, where he was awarded the Belgian Golden Shoe in January 2014, for the best footballer in the Belgian Pro League, and the prize for best professional football player in May 2014.

He joined Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2014, initially on loan, and made over 100 appearances for the club before moving to Borussia Dortmund in 2019.

In 2023, Hazard joined Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven on loan.

In September 2023 Hazard joined RSC Anderlecht.

In 2013, Kylian joined White Star Bruxelles, and on 29 August 2017, he signed to join Chelsea's development team, however is currently playing for RWDM.

Ethan goes to the youth academy of Eden's former club, Tubize.

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 meters" from a football training ground and the brothers often ventured onto a training pitch through a small hole in order to hone and develop their skills.

Hazard began his football career playing for hometown club Royal Stade Brainois at age five.

After spending five years at the club, Thorgan followed his brother Eden to Tubize.

At age 14, he was discovered by French club Lens while playing for Tubize in a local tournament.

Similar to his brother's move to Lille, his parents accepted an offer from Lens with the hope that the training facilities in France would be better, here he met fellow Belgium player and future Chelsea teammate Charly Musonda.

Hazard's father later admitted Eden was much better than Thorgan, and that joining 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."

He was part of the Belgian squad that came third at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Hazard grew up in Braine-le-Comte, a small town in the Wallonia region, but he was born in La Louvière.

His first name was inspired by the Belgian comic strip Thorgal and he grew up in a family where football was dominant.

His mother Carine and father Thierry were both footballers in Belgium.

His father spent most of his career playing at semi-professional level with Louviéroise 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 his older brother Eden.

After playing football, both his parents became physical education teachers.