Eden Hazard launches new career! Chelsea legend becomes a winemaker in surprise post-retirement decision

Hazard is used to producing vintage displays on the pitch, but he is now hoping to produce vintages of a different kind. The former Chelsea and Real Madrid star has partnered with Fabio Cordella, the boss of a prestigious Italian wine company, to create a line of wines that promises to be as "elegant and intense" as his playing style.

The collaboration will see Hazard’s name adorn bottles grown in the sun-soaked earth of Salento, Italy. Cordella, a 50-year-old businessman and former sporting director at clubs including Belgian outfit Union Saint-Gilloise, expressed his excitement at the partnership.

“Eden Hazard’s official wine is arriving very soon,” Cordella announced. “When Belgian talent meets the excellence of premium Italian wine, it creates a vintage in Eden’s image – elegant, intense and iconic. A wine of character, born in the earth of Salento, and with the signature of the Fabio Cordella Wines family business.”

The wines are set to go on sale in Italy and Hazard’s native Belgium starting next month. By entering the wine industry, Hazard joins a growing list of footballing royalty who have worked with Cordella’s label, including Brazilian magician Ronaldinho and legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

Since his retirement in October 2023, Hazard has famously avoided the limelight. Unlike many of his peers who rush into punditry, coaching or high-visibility ambassadorial roles, the Belgian has seemingly enjoyed the quiet life. His exit from professional football came after a difficult four-year spell at Real Madrid, where injuries severely hampered his ability to replicate the world-class form he showed in London.

After his £90 million move to Spain in 2019, Hazard made just 76 appearances across four seasons. Despite collecting a Champions League winner's medal and two La Liga titles, he struggled to make a personal impact, eventually agreeing to terminate his contract early. His decision to retire at just 32 was seen by many as a premature end to a glittering career, but Hazard has consistently maintained that he wanted to stop while he could still enjoy life with his family. This venture into winemaking suggests he is now ready to engage with business projects that fit his relaxed, enjoyment-first lifestyle.

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While his time in Madrid fizzled out, Hazard’s legacy at Chelsea remains untouched. Between 2012 and 2019, he was arguably the most entertaining player in English football. Arriving from Lille for £32 million, he went on to make 352 appearances for the Blues, scoring 110 goals and providing endless moments of magic.

His trophy cabinet from his time at Stamford Bridge is the stuff of legend: two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup, and two Europa League crowns. He was the talisman of the team, capable of turning games on their head with a drop of the shoulder or a slaloming run. For Chelsea fans, he will always be the "toast" of west London, even if he is now selling reds and whites instead of wearing royal blue.

The wine launch is not Hazard’s only brush with the beverage industry in recent weeks. The Belgian hero recently made headlines for a heartwarming reunion with Charlie Morgan - the former Swansea City ball boy he famously kicked during a League Cup semi-final in 2013.

That incident, where a frustrated Hazard attempted to retrieve the ball from beneath a time-wasting Morgan, resulted in a red card and became one of the most bizarre moments in League Cup history. However, time heals all wounds. Morgan has since become a wildly successful entrepreneur, co-founding the premium vodka brand Au Vodka and amassing a personal fortune estimated at £40 million.

In a brilliant twist of fate, the two were pictured together recently, smiling and posing with Morgan’s vodka, putting the 11-year-old controversy firmly to bed. With Hazard now entering the drinks business himself, perhaps there is scope for a future collaboration between the vodka mogul and the new vintner of Salento.