Eden Hazard spent seven years at Chelsea before joining Real Madrid in 2019, and shocked team-mates with his final message in the team WhatsApp group
Eden Hazard shocked his Chelsea team-mates with his parting words in their WhatsApp group after completing his high-profile switch to Real Madrid. The Belgian ace waved goodbye to Stamford Bridge in 2019, having spent seven years with the Blues and clinching six major honours, including two Premier League crowns.
Hazard’s swansong was nothing short of spectacular, netting twice in a 4-1 thrashing of Arsenal in the Europa League final. The winger’s stellar performance paved the way for an eye-watering £89million move to the Spanish titans.
Despite the inevitable emotions tied to leaving a club he had been with since the tender age of 21, Hazard’s farewell message to his team-mates was short. It wasn’t until this brief text pinged through that the reality of Hazard’s departure truly hit home for ex-team-mate Emerson Palmieri.
Emerson, who joined Chelsea a year before Hazard’s exit, disclosed to ESPN Brazil that the players’ group chat had been unusually quiet that summer as everyone was off enjoying their holidays. Now at West Ham, the Italian international recalled: “On the WhatsApp group, the last move there was Hazard’s farewell.
“He said goodbye to the boys and such, since then, we don’t know anything else. It’s weird. He sent a ‘thank you, I love you guys’, and then it showed ‘Eden Hazard left the group’. I said damn, he really left.”
Hazard’s time at Santiago Bernabeu, which began with high expectations, turned into a nightmare filled with injuries and underperformance. In his four troubled years in Spain, Hazard managed to make only 76 appearances, netting a mere seven goals and providing 12 assists. The final season of his career, the 2022/23 campaign, saw him play just 10 times before he and Madrid agreed to cut ties early.
The football world was left in shock when Hazard, at 32, announced his retirement from professional football. Reflecting on his stint with Madrid, the ex-Chelsea talisman expressed regret over the timing of his transfer, particularly due to the pandemic.
In a candid interview, Hazard opened up about his dream move that turned sour: “It was my dream club”, he admitted. “I think I was a bit unlucky [with the time I arrived] with COVID. If you wanna know the real story, I went to Dallas for surgery, and then I came back to Madrid, it was COVID.”
The forward’s lacklustre spell at Real Madrid was met with little sympathy from former team-mate Toni Kroos, who seemed to criticise the Belgian international on the ‘Einfach mal Luppen’ podcast. The German midfield maestro made his thoughts clear: “We had another player who came for a lot of money and basically let his career die.
“It was a lot of money, I think everyone would say that wasn’t a good transfer. But let’s be positive.” Although Kroos hung up his boots last season, he hasn’t shied away from commenting on past team-mates like Hazard, revealing that empathy isn’t something he deems fitting in football.
“Of course it’s a difficult situation, but pity is out of place in football,” Kroos said. “I don’t think Eden has a bad life. You can feel sorry for people who have a much worse life than him. It’s not about money, I don’t feel sorry for anyone in football.”
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