EDEN HAZARD may be a Chelsea legend and one of their greatest ever players, but he started life as a fan of one of their biggest rivals.
The retired ace, 34, admitted in an interview that he grew up watching the Blues’ London rivals Arsenal.
PAEden Hazard has revealed that he grew up as an Arsenal fan[/caption]
Hazard is remembered fondly by the Stamford Bridge faithful, not least for his efforts against Arsenal.
The winger tormented the Gunners in his final ever game for Chelsea, scoring twice and setting up a third as Chelsea thrashed Arsenal 4-1 in the 2019 Europa League final.
Some small part of Hazard may have been conflicted when turning the likes of Nacho Monreal and Laurent Koscielny inside out, given his history as an Arsenal fan at heart.
In an interview with streamer Zack Nani, Hazard remembered growing up watching the Gunners as a huge fan of Thierry Henry.
He said: “I knew Chelsea because of [Didier] Drogba and all that. You know, [Nicolas] Anelka and all, those are the people I liked.
“But it wasn’t the club of my dreams. I’m telling you now, people know it.
“I was a Real [Madrid] fan and a Thierry Henry fan. So I originally liked Arsenal. I grew up with the Gunners.”
Quickly joking: “We’ll cut that in the editing.”
ReutersHazard tormented Arsenal with his heroics in the 2019 Europa League final[/caption]
BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS
Hazard certainly didn’t show his love for Arsenal during his playing days, regularly terrifying their defence.
In fact, there is no team that the 126-time Belgium international has scored more goals against in his entire career.
He netted a total of seven times when facing the North Londoners.
Hazard retired in 2023 after an unsuccessful switch to his other boyhood dream club, Real Madrid.
The winger landed a switch to the Bernabeu worth a whopping £130MILLION, but failed to impress in Spain.
Across four seasons with Los Blancos, Hazard made just 76 appearances – scoring only seven goals and registering 12 assists.
Eden Hazard’s career
A brief look at Eden Hazard’s glittering career..
Career timeline
2008 – 2012: Lille
2012 – 2019: Chelsea
2019 – 2023: Real Madrid
Career Stats
Appearances: 623
Goals: 167
Assists: 153
Honours
1 x Champions League
2 x Europa League
2 x Premier League
2 x La Liga
1 x Ligue 1
1 x FA Cup
1 x Spanish Cup
1 x French Cup
1 x League Cup
1 x Premier League POTY
2 x Ligue 1 POTY
Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
