Former Belgian international Eden Hazard has been inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame, the English football league announced on Wednesday.
Hazard, 34, played seven seasons in the Premier League with Chelsea between 2012 and 2019. During that time, he scored 85 goals, provided 58 assists across 245 matches, won two league titles in 2015 and 2017, and was named Player of the Season for 2014-15.
He left Chelsea in 2019 to join Real Madrid and retired from football in October 2023, following several injury-plagued seasons.
Hazard becomes the second player from Belgium to enter the prestigious Hall of Fame, following Vincent Kompany, inducted in 2022. Kompany, now managing Bayern Munich, won four league titles during his career at Manchester City from 2008 to 2019.
Gary Neville, the former Manchester United player, has also been inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.
“I grew up playing football for fun, with my brothers in the back garden, but my dream was always to play at the highest level," Hazard said in a statement. "It means a lot to join the Premier League Hall of Fame. I’m very proud to join this group of players and I think we could make a good squad!
“I just wanted to have fun on the pitch and entertain the fans who bought tickets or watched on TV. Being recognised in this way is special for me and my family. My parents were both footballers and now my children love the game too.”
His former Chelsea manager José Mourinho, under whom Hazard won the 2015 Premier League title, extended his congratulations to the famous Belgian ball wizard."Everybody knows that you belong there," he said in a message to the new Hall-of-Famer. "You are one of the most amazing players that I ever worked with and of course you have to be there.
" You are in the Hall of Fame so now you stay in our memories—and by the way thank you so much for helping to win my last Premier League title!”
Other nominees for this year’s induction included English players Sol Campbell, Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe, Les Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, and Teddy Sheringham. French star Patrice Evra, Spanish midfielders Cesc Fabregas and David Silva, Ivorian Yaya Touré, Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, and Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic were also recognised.
Established in 2021, the Premier League Hall of Fame honours the greatest names in the league’s history since its inception in 1992. With the additions of Hazard and Neville, the Hall of Fame now features 26 legends, including 24 players and two renowned managers, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger.
