Eden Hazard: Football Fan Identifies Tackle that Changed Belgian’s Career

• Eden Hazard announced his retirement from football aged 32 on Monday, October 9
• The Belgian was at one point the most fouled player in the Premier League
• One football fan has come up with a theory on the one tackle that changed the trajectory of Hazard’s career

A football fan has emerged with an interesting theory on why Eden Hazard’s football career took a sudden downward spiral.

Hazard, at the tender age of 32, announced he was quitting football on Monday, October 9, in news that many of his staunch fans were not ready for.

His retirement possibly marked the end of what was the Golden era for the Belgian team, which was star-studded and tipped to go to the very top of the football tiers.

Persistent injuries were one of the most prominent factors that led to Hazard’s early retirement, which ultimately cost him his place in the Real Madrid squad.

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Los Blancos let go of the talented attacker in June 2023 after what was an underwhelming spell in Spain that saw him make just 44 starts for the Spanish giants, notching in eight goals.

This was a far cry from the stats he accrued at Chelsea, where he was at the peak of his powers. With the Blues, he racked up an impressive 110 goals during a seven-year spell.

The tackle that cost Hazard

On social media, one X user identified as @MrBoadu ignited debate after he shared a curious clip of Hazard sustaining an injury.

In the clip, Hazard came up against Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League in 2019, and as was the norm by then, opponents were relentless with tackles on the winger.

But it was one tackle from Hazard’s fellow countryman Thomas Meunier that proved to be the turning point for him, at least in the game, as it forced him out of that game.

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It was later determined that the winger had suffered a micro-fracture on his ankle. It is kind to note that it was the same ankle that he had damaged during his playing days at Chelsea.

As a result of the injury, Hazard was out for three months, and things went downhill from then on as he suffered a broken fibula soon after his return, according to SportBible.

Mourinho’s prediction on Hazard

Sports Brief also reported on Jose Mourinho’s gloomy prediction on Eden Hazard’s football career.

Mourinho, back in 2014, was critical of the tackles Hazard was being subjected to in the Premier League, and he boldly stated at a press conference that “Maybe one day there is no Hazard”.

The Portuguese gaffer noted that Hazard was an “honest guy”, and rarely went down on the first contact, making opponents kick at him more.