Chelsea legend 'condemned to RETIRE' after transfer revelation
Tom Weber
- Updated: 9 Aug 2023 13:00 BST
- 4 min read
Former Chelsea and Real Madrid player Eden Hazard is 'condemned to retire,' according to Spanish media.
The Belgian was once one of the world's most exciting players, but his career quickly took a nosedive when he signed for Real Madrid in 2019 for an eye-watering €115 million.
Having left Chelsea as one of the best players in club history after scoring 110 goals and providing 92 assists in 352 games, Hazard arrived in the Spanish capital to plenty of fanfare and sky-high expectations.
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He never managed to live up to the hype, however. Frequent fitness issues saw him feature more on the sidelines than in the team and he was limited to just 76 appearances in four years, scoring seven times and recording 12 assists. This summer he was ignominiously released by the club as one of the worst transfers in Los Blancos' illustrious history.
Since then, his fortunes have not improved.
No offers
It was unclear how the 32-year-old would proceed after his Real Madrid exit. There were rumours that he was pondering retirement due to his fitness issues, while other reports claimed that he had offers from Major League Soccer and the Saudi Pro League.
Lionel Messi's Inter Miami were at one point said to be interested in Hazard, but nothing ultimately came of it. It has also previously been rumoured that Belgian top-flight side RWD Molenbeek were keen to reunite Eden with his brother Kylian, but again, nothing materialised.
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Now, Spanish journalist Jose Felix Diaz has claimed that Hazard is 'condemned to retire' due to a lack of concrete interest. Only middling Belgian side KVC Wasterlo have made a real offer to sign the winger, says Diaz.
Westerlo finished seventh in the Jupiler Pro League last term after gaining promotion back to the first division the season prior. Westerlo are the former side of current Burnley striker Lyle Foster and recently signed Manchester City youngster Adedire Mebude.
