Wimbledon will be getting a taste of the glory days with one of football’s great entertainers gracing Plough Lane on May 25.
Chelsea legend Eden Hazard has announced that he will be taking part in the annual Goals 4 GOSH fixture.
Hazard announced he will be taking part in the charity game, causing plenty of excitement[/caption]
He will join former Premier League stars, celebrities, influencers and also former Dons.
Proceeds for the event will go to Great Ormond Street Hospital children’s charity.
Other big names like Joe Cole and talkSPORT’s very own Troy Deeney will be taking part, but all eyes will be on Hazard, one of the most skilful players to ever play.
Organisers have clearly been clever in getting Hazard on board, having first signed his celebrity hairdresser A-STAR.
The 34-year-old retired in 2023 after a disappointing injury-hit spell at Real Madrid.
He later revealed that the inability to get proper physio for a serious injury during COVID left him with problems.
Some reports claimed that Madrid’s final fee they paid Chelsea for the star was a massive £130million, which would make him the third-most expensive player of all time.
The Belgian recorded just 76 appearances and seven goals in his four seasons at the Bernabeu, but is still remembered in England as one of the Premier League’s all-time greats.
Overall he recorded 85 goals and 54 assists for Chelsea, winning the title twice and a Player of the Season award in 2014/15.
Since retiring he’s kept in the media spotlight with plenty of amusing interviews.
But he’s also stayed active, too, playing in numerous charity games, including one at the home of former rivals Lens.
A Ligue 1 and Coupe de France winner with Lille in 2011, he returned to Lens’ Stade Bollaert-Delelis last September and was booed as he nabbed a goal and assist.
That’s unlikely to be the case at Wimbledon, though, as despite being a fellow London club, there’s still plenty of respect for the ex-winger in England.
Summing up the player, international teammate Kevin De Bruyne once said: “He is one of the five best players in the world, just behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar.”
The Manchester City midfielder also included Hazard in his all-time Premier League side, commenting: “On a good day, Eden was just exceptional.
“He had this one-on-one dribbling ability with an, ‘I don’t care, I’m just playing football, having fun’ attitude. We’d been playing together since we were 16.
“Unfortunately, he got injured when he arrived in Madrid and retired, but he was such a talented player.”
Hazard has proved to never have any bitterness over his early retirement, and even seems to be in better shape than his playing days.
Still living in Madrid he’s found a new hobby in cycling, and in April completed the 225kilometre ‘Mallorca 312’ cycle race.
A year earlier he also completed a climb of Mont Ventoux in France, known to be one of the most gruelling stages of the Tour de France.
