Former Chelsea and Real Madrid star Eden Hazard could take up the option to retire from football, according to Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive CaughtOffside column.
No final decision has been made yet by Hazard, but it seems retirement remains a concrete possibility for the Belgian forward, who is discussing his future with his family and those close to him.
Hazard has had a superb career at the highest level, firmly establishing himself as one of the very finest attacking players in world football for many years whilst at Chelsea.
Still, things haven’t gone quite so smoothly for the 32-year-old in recent times, as he struggled for both fitness and form in his time at Real Madrid.
So could Hazard now call it a day altogether? Romano doesn’t want to speculate too much, but it seems it can’t be ruled out as something we could get confirmation on soon, whereas talk of a return to Chelsea is simply not accurate at all.
“There’s a lot being speculated about Eden Hazard, who remains a free agent, but at the moment I’m not aware of anything concrete. There are a lot of rumours, but nothing advanced, because at the moment Hazard is still discussing with his family and those close to him about retirement,” Romano said.
“Retirement for Hazard is a concrete possibility, but it’s not a final decision yet, and I think when we talk about a big decision like this for an important player like Hazard, I like to be respectful. It’s the player who has to decide and communicate, not for me or other journalists in general.
“For sure he’s considering retirement, but let’s see what he will decide, and I can say that all the rumours about Belgian clubs, or a return to Chelsea or other clubs, none of this was concrete or true.”
I like hazard in my life I so him to return to Chelsea to ply becose still is best part