Why Eden Hazard Didn’t Join Messi In MLS Or CR7 In Saudi 

Eden Hazard has explained why joining Lionel Messi in MLS or Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League was never an option for him.

When the former Belgium international announced his retirement at the age of 32, it shocked the football community. After four dismal seasons at Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid released him as a free agent. He chose to retire rather than pursue a new team.

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Hazard was rumoured to be moving to America or the Middle East, where there would be plenty of money and familiar faces to be found. After participating in a charity game with stars like Didier Deschamps and Robert Pires, Hazard addressed the rumours, saying: “I wouldn’t play anywhere for money. I have a long life ahead of me, 32 years old, to enjoy off the playing fields.

Expanding on his reasons for calling it quits, Hazard said of losing his love of the game during a difficult spell at Real Madrid: “It is never easy to make a decision like that, but I am not going to say that it was difficult. It is something that I had reflected on a lot, I had the support of people who know me and who know that I really want to do other things with my life outside of football. Last season was complicated and when I left the national team I already had everything thought out. I no longer enjoyed going to training and as I played less it became more complicated.”

After joining Real from Chelsea in 2019, Hazard made just 76 appearances, scoring seven goals in that time as concerns about his form and fitness started to arise disturbingly frequently. Even though his contract in the Spanish capital had one year left, he was discharged.