Crystal Palace enticed Eden Hazard to return, but his decision to retire would come as a ‘no surprise’ after his refusal.

Crystal Palace reportedly had “legit” interest in luring Eden Hazard back to the Premier League in the summer, but his retirement would “not surprise” an insider after he snubbed the deal.

Hazard’s career derailed after a £100 million-plus move to Real Madrid in 2019. The winger had a wonderful career at Chelsea, rising to become one of Europe’s best and most skilled players.

Hazard scored 202 goals in 352 games for the Blues, and he also won the Premier League twice. However, he was unable to maintain his outstanding form with Real, scoring only three goals in a season.

 

After four dismal seasons at the La Liga giants – albeit he wasn’t given much of a chance of late – the Belgian left as a free agent and has yet to join another club, with the 32-year-old considering retirement.

He did, however, have the opportunity to move on, with Crystal Palace one team that wanted to bring him back to the Premier League. Their interest was first revealed in the summer and was later verified by insider Dean Jones.

“There have been some strong offers for him, even the Crystal Palace one for him to play again in the Premier League was a legit one, but the motivation for him to make a comeback does not seem to be there,” he told GIVEMESPORT.

 

Jones also suggested that Hazard’s return might be difficult considering that he barely played in his final season with Real and has not been around a club since departing.

“It’s been a long time since he’s played; he’d have to work extremely hard to get back to top condition, which means actually playing top level games could take some time,” Jones noted.

“Because he’s a free agent, clubs that have expressed interest haven’t ruled him out, but this is a player who is very self-assured, isn’t affected by outside noise or behaviours, and will make the decision entirely on his own terms.”

Jones believes Hazard’s current lack of motivation to join a new club indicates that the possibility of retirement is growing.”It would not surprise me if Hazard does now retire from football,” he stated.

While it would be a shame to watch a modern great retire, his recent few seasons have not gone as planned, and if he wants to call it quits, he still had a terrific peak before things went south.