Having been released by Madrid in June, the Belgian has now confirmed his retirement following a spate of injury problems
How did we get here? Eden Hazard made a massive-money move from Chelsea to Real Madrid in June 2019, and appeared poised to be the next face of La Liga, the latest Galactico to walk out at Santiago Bernabeu and impose himself as one of Europe's greats.
Los Blancos, remember, had lost Cristiano Ronaldo a year previous, and with Gareth Bale struggling for fitness and Vinicius Jr. yet to find his feet, Hazard seemed set to be Madrid's winger of the future. And at 28, he still had plenty of football left.
Four years later, Hazard isn't in a Madrid shirt anymore. He won't even play football again after announcing his retirement at the age of 32 on Tuesday. The Belgian scored just seven goals, and added a meagre 12 assists during his injury-ravaged spell in the Spanish capital. He only managed 76 appearances and failed to ever better the production of his best season at Stamford Bridge. To say that he was a disappointment was an understatement.
Some of this, of course, was of Hazard's own making. The winger was irresponsible at times, failing to look after himself and drawing the ire of Madrid fans for a questionable commitment to the shirt. But he was also immensely unlucky, a victim of a recurring ankle injury that limited the trickery and explosiveness of his earlier days.
It all amounted to an opportunity wasted, transfer budget spurned, and a career cut short for a player who should have been one of the game's greats. GOAL takes a look at where it all went wrong for Hazard at Madrid…
GettyJune 2019: Big-money move
Despite having been their poster boy for over half a decade, Chelsea were effectively powerless to keep Hazard when he left for Real Madrid in June 2019. He had only one year left on his contract, and amid something of a stand-off, Los Blancos were able to swoop in.
The result was a massive initial €100 million (£88m/$107m) transfer agreement, and subsequent €600,000(£530,000/$640,000)-per-week salary.
Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesJuly 2019: Showing up overweight
The Belgian hardly made a good impression at the nexus of his Madrid career. Hazard showed up to training overweight, a fact that served as instant ammunition for social media trolls and sceptics.
He later admitted that he was five kilograms heavier than he should have been, and revealed that he tends to gain and lose weight frequently, especially during pre-season.
October 2019: Early form
His intial performances on the pitch, though, quashed any notions that his fitness would be an immediate issue. Hazard needed a few weeks to bed in, but by October was fit and firing for Los Blancos.
He played crucial roles in a duo of La Liga contests, starring against first Eiber and then Real Sociedad. While he didn't score or assist in either, the Hazard of Chelsea — mazy dribbles, incisive passes and all — was well on display.
November 2019: One foul changes things
The foul that would go on to change the course of Hazard's footballing career didn't appear to be serious. Paris Saint-Germain's Thomas Meunier, his Belgium team-mate, swept Hazard's legs as he spun away from the full-back. Hazard's ankle got trapped awkwardly under Meunier's foot, and he could hardly walk as he was escorted off the pitch.
Unfortunately for Hazard, Meunier had taken out an ankle that had been a cause of persistent pain. He had fractured it a few years before, and although he made a full recovery, something was now clearly wrong.