Eden Hazard: “My body couldn’t keep up anymore.”

One of the surprising faces of last night’s Balon D’or ceremony, where Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham took hook the Kopa trophy and Vinicius Jr won the Socrates award, was Eden Hazard, who appeared on the microphone on stage — even presenting Bellingham’s trophy to him:

At the ceremony, the former Real Madrid, Chelsea, and Belgium National Team player spoke about why he attended the event, as well as his decision to retire.

“Why am I here? Because my children asked to come,” Hazard said. “Okay, then we’ll go to Paris together to spend a night and have fun,’ I told them.”

Hazard also reflected on post-retirement life.

“I can do what I want and enjoy my family, my children,” Hazard explained. “Do I still watch football? Naturally. My children play football and I watch it with them. For now I don’t miss playing football. Maybe in a few months, I don’t know.

“I’m only 32 years old, but I really started early... I left home when I was 14 and ended up doing everything I wanted. This was the right time. My body couldn’t keep up anymore. I had some injuries at the end and that’s why I made the decision.”