Lille, Chelsea and Real Madrid - the market value timeline of Eden Hazard's career

On Tuesday morning, former Lille, Chelsea and Real Madrid star Eden Hazard confirmed that he would be hanging up his boots and retiring from football after more than 600 games and 15 seasons across three of Europe’s top leagues. The 32-year-old Belgian winger had been without a club since June, after leaving Madrid by mutual agreement, and following a lack of options and continued injury concerns Hazard took to social media to confirm that he was calling it a day.

"You must listen to yourself and say stop at the right time," said Hazard. "During my career I was lucky to meet great managers, coaches and teammates - thank you to everyone for these great times, I will miss you all. I also want to thank the clubs I have played for: LOSC, Chelsea and Real Madrid; and thank the RBFA for my Belgian selection.” He added: "Now is the time to enjoy my loved ones and have new experiences. See you off the field soon my friends."

While 32 may seem like a relatively young age to retire - especially by modern standards and the manner in which some stars play into their late thirties - there’s no doubt that Hazard has enjoyed a truly remarkable career. And over the course of his time at the aforementioned clubs he played for in France, England and Spain there are few players in the modern game that reached the heights that the former Belgium international soared to.

The breakthrough at Lille

Hazard began his career at Ligue 1 side Lille, where he made a handful of substitute appearances in the 2007/08 season but really broke on to the scene the following year when he made 35 appearances for the club, scoring six goals and four assists. From there, Hazard went from strength to strength in French football, bagging no less than 103 goals and assists in just 194 games for Lille in all competitions. His most impressive achievement came in the 2010/11 season, when he played a pivotal role in the club winning the French title. However, on a personal level his performances in his final season saw him hit new heights with 38 goals and assists in 38 games. By the time he departed France for England, Hazard’s market value had risen dramatically from €400k in July 2008 to €33 million in early 2012.

Becoming a Chelsea legend

Naturally, such form didn’t go unnoticed and in the summer of 2012 Premier League giants Chelsea spent €35m to sign the Belgium international. That figure would be seen as something of a bargain relatively quickly, as Hazard immediately made an impact at the Stamford Bridge club. In his first season with the club, the winger bagged no less than 37 goals and assists in 67 games, as the club won the Europa League and re-established themselves as title contenders in the league. Over the course of his seven years at the club, Hazard proved to be one of the most talented attacking players in European football. In 245 games in the Premier League, the Chelsea forward picked up an incredible 146 goals and assists. In that same period no winger or midfielder picked up more goal contributions in the English top-flight, with only three strikers - Sergio Agüero, Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane - picking up more than the Belgian talent in that period.

As such, Hazard’s market value rose dramatically from a lot of €40m when he joined the club in 2012 to a remarkable €150m high in 2018. At that point in his career, Hazard was the fourth most valuable player in the world, having picked up two league titles, two FA Cup wins and one League Cup and Europa League trophy apiece. But in his quest to become the best player in the world and to truly challenge for the Champions League, Hazard departed Chelsea in 2019 to test himself at Real Madrid.

Injuries and disappointment in Spain

In the summer of 2019, Hazard made the move to Madrid in a deal that ended up costing the Spanish club €115m. A fee that still holds the Belgium winger as the most expensive signing in the club’s history. However, despite the extraordinary fee and the 50,000 fans that showed up to greet Hazard to the club, his move to LaLiga didn’t go according to plan and unfortunately proved to be the beginning of the end for the talented forward.

Injuries plagued the player from day one, with his first season at the club being defined by the 25 games he missed for club and country. Unfortunately, such issues only got worse and worse for Hazard, as he went on to miss a further 69 games over the next three seasons. In total, Hazard managed just 76 appearances for Los Blancos over the course of four seasons and while his record may point to two league titles, two domestic cups and the all-important Champions League trophy in 2022, the player and club were forced to come to terms with the fact that he would never repeat what he did in London in the Spanish capital. As such, Hazard’s market value dropped dramatically during his four years at the club from a high of €150m to where it stood at just €5m when he and the club agreed to part ways at the end of the 2022/23 season, just a few months before the winger opted to hang up his boots and draw a line under a truly remarkable and distinguished career.