Surprised everyone, what Carragher had to say about Eden Hazard's departure

He was considered to become one of the best players in world football, but after his arrival at Real Madrid nothing happened with Eden Hazard, who on Tuesday 10 October announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 32. He said it was the "right time" to end a 16-year career at the top of the game that fulfilled his dream. "You have to listen to yourself and say enough is enough at the right time. After 16 years and more than 700 games played, I decided to end my career as a professional footballer," he wrote on his Instagram account.

The player has been without a club since last June when he terminated his contract with Real Madrid. He began his professional career with French club Lille, where he played between 2007 and 2012 and with whom he won a league title and a French Cup before embarking on his adventure in England. Subsequently, in his time with Chelsea, the Belgian striker became one of the benchmark strikers in Europe; between 2012 and 2019, he played 352 games as a 'blue' in which he scored 110 goals and provided 85 assists, all to lift, among other titles, two Premier League and two Europa League titles. It was in 2019, when Hazard signed for Real Madrid, where he was far from his best. As a Real Madrid player, he made just 76 appearances and scored seven goals in four seasons, a poor record that still earned him two La Liga titles, a Champions League, a Club World Cup, a European Super Cup, a Copa del Rey and two Spanish Super Cups.

"I was able to realise my dream, I played and had fun on many fields all over the world. During my career I was lucky enough to meet great managers, coaches and team-mates. Thank you all for these great moments, I will miss you all," said Hazard, thanking Lille, Chelsea, Real Madrid and the Belgian national team for their affection. He made 118 appearances for Belgium, scoring 33 goals, took part in the World Cups of Brazil 2014, Russia 2018 - where the 'Red Devils' finished third - and Qatar 2022, the European Championships of France 2016 and 2020 and the Nations League 2021.

<strong>What Carragher had to say about Hazard&#39;s retirement</strong>

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher referred to Eden Hazard's retirement with a message that surprised everyone as he described him as the best player in the Premier League for several years even above Mohamed Salah or specifically in the 2018 World Cup in which he shone more than Mbappe who was a World Cup winner.