Eden Hazard offered ANOTHER return to football after Real Madrid exit

Cameron Smith

19 Sept 2023 22:44 BST
4 min read

Eden Hazard has been offered another return to football, this time by Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise.

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The 32-year-old has been a free agent since June, when his contract at Real Madrid expired, and the former Chelsea man has been considering retirement following an injury-hit spell at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Playing for Los Blancos was Hazard’s dream, yet his time at the club was plagued by constant injuries and he failed to live up to his €115 million price tag.

Now, the Belgian star has been contemplating retiring from football, despite offers from around the world.

Mexican side Pachuca and Brazilian side Botafogo have attempted to persuade Hazard to move to South America, while clubs from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the USA have also lodged offers for the ex-Lille man.

In addition, Crystal Palace were another team keen on signing Hazard on a free transfer and they presented an offer to the player during the summer window - as exclusively reported by FootballTransfers - although they were unsuccessful.

Now, Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise have become the latest to enter the race to sign Hazard, according to AS, with the proposal met with a “lukewarm” reaction by Hazard, as per the report.

If he was to join Union Saint-Gilloise, Hazard would have the opportunity to play Europa League football and he’d be playing in the same city - Brussels - as his two brothers, Thorgan and Kylian.

© ProShots - Eden and Thorgan Hazard playing for Belgium

Thorgan currently plays for Anderlecht, while Kylian is at newly-promoted RWD Molenbeek.

Is retirement an option for Hazard?

Fabrizio Romano has reported that retirement is an option for Hazard. He told CaughtOffside: “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.

“Retirement for Hazard is a concrete possibility," Romano continued. "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."