English Premier League (EPL) icon Eden Hazard, 32, has hung up his cleats.
“After 16 years and over 700 games, I’ve decided to end my professional career,” Azhar announced on social media on Tuesday. “I have to listen to my inner voice so that I can quit at the right time,” he added.
Azar made his professional debut for French side LOSC Lille in 2008, where his physicality and technical prowess made him a valuable asset. After joining Chelsea in 2012, he rose to world-class status. In seven seasons with the Blues, he scored 110 goals and provided 92 assists in 352 appearances. In 2018-19, he dominated the EPL with 16 goals and 15 assists in the league alone.
During the same period, Chelsea won two league titles, two UEFA Europa League titles, one FA Cup, and one League Cup with Hazard.
He was also a mainstay of the Belgian national team in the Golden Generation. He scored 33 goals in 126 caps and led the team with the captain’s armband. With him, Belgium reached the quarterfinals at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and finished third at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In Russia, he was awarded the Silver Ball as the second best player in the tournament.
After that, it was a steep decline. His downward spiral began after his move to Real Madrid in 2019, when Real paid an unusually large transfer fee of €115 million for a player in his early 30s. They gave him the number 7 shirt, the symbol of an ace, and had high hopes for him.
Expectations quickly turned to disappointment. He was plagued by frequent injuries and poor performances amid controversy over his weight. In his seven years in England, where the game is notoriously rough, Azar was injured 10 times. He only missed 21 games due to injury.
At Real, on the other hand, he was plagued by injuries from his first year. In four seasons, he went down 18 times. In total, he missed 78 games due to injury. As Real got used to life without him, his place in the team narrowed. Last season, he started just six league games.온라인카지노
In his four years at Real, he had seven goals and 12 assists in 76 games. That’s not far off from his 43 games, six goals and eight assists in 2015-16, which is considered his worst season at Chelsea. He was also consistent in his appearances.
In the end, Azar parted ways with Real at the end of last season. He has since been linked to the Belgian second division, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. Now, at just 32 years old, he’s calling it quits after a long career.
“I was lucky,” says Azhar. I had great coaches and teammates,” he said in his farewell, adding, “Thank you all and I will always miss you.” “I would also like to thank Lille, Chelsea, Real and the Belgian national team for selecting me,” he added.