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Aditya Gokhale

Former Real Madrid and Chelsea star Eden Hazard turned down huge £1m-a-week offer from Saudi Arabia before retiring

Chelsea legend Eden Hazard decided to retire from the sport despite Saudi Arabian teams offering him agreements worth £1 million per week.

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  • Hazard retired in the summer
  • Obi Mikel reveals Hazard had offers from Saudi
  • Suffered from physical ailments towards end of career
  • Eden Hazard Real Madrid HIC 16:9Getty

    WHAT HAPPENED?

    After a 16-year professional career, the Belgian declared last month that he was hanging up his boots. It followed a tumultuous four years at Real Madrid during which he sustained injuries on a regular basis. In four seasons, Hazard only played 76 games for the Spanish powerhouses due to frequent physical problems. John Obi Mikel, Hazard's former Chelsea teammate, claims that even with his fitness issues, Hazard still received many lucrative offers from Saudi Arabia.

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  • WHAT JOHN OBI MIKEL SAID

    The former Chelsea midfielder revealed the chat he had with Hazard on Rio Ferdinand's Vibe with Five.

    "Should I go to Saudi Arabia, where I’m going to take a million a week, and then what? I got about two or three offers to go to Saudi Arabia," Hazard said.

    "He said, 'Mikel, I’ve got a lot of money. You know how I live my life. I don’t spend too much money. So, I have money now to live with my family and to bring up [my children]."

  • Hazard-Belgium-2022Getty

    THE BIGGER PICTURE

    Despite the fact that several of the top players in the world, like Karim Benzema, Neymar, and Cristiano Ronaldo, had moved to Saudi Arabia, he rejected the call from the Saudi Pro League. At Chelsea, Hazard won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup, the League Cup, and two Europa Leagues. That came after he and Lille won the 2011 Ligue 1-Coupe de France double.

  • WHAT NEXT FOR HAZARD?

    Hazard hasn't revealed his plans for the future, however, his understanding of the game has made fans believe that he could become a coach in the future following in the path of his former teammate Fernando Torres.