Eden Hazard has no regrets about how his dream move to Real Madrid unfolded as he enjoys life after football.
The Belgian forward joined the Spanish giants in 2019 after becoming one of the best players in the world at Chelsea but could not have the impact he hoped for.
Injuries and poor form restricted him to just 76 appearances in all competitions before leaving the club after four disappointing years last summer.
He decided to retire soon after, aged just 32, but will put his boots back on this summer after signing up to play for the World XI at Soccer Aid.
Hazard still looks back on his time at the Bernabeu with pride.
“It was my dream, I can tell you,” he said. “Even if the story was not that good, we all know injuries and this and that, but when you look back you can see some pictures of me wearing the Real Madrid shirt and it was something I am really proud of.”
Asked whether he could have carried on playing had things ended differently at Madrid, he replied: “That’s a good question, who knows? I think so, but my time playing football was over, I had a lot of injuries, so no regrets.”
Hazard’s involvement in Soccer Aid on June 9 will see an emotional return to Stamford Bridge, where he enjoyed a stellar seven years.
He won two Premier League titles, two Europa Leagues, an FA Cup and a League Cup and reflects on “pure happiness” during his stay in west London.
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“I spent seven years, the best memories of my football career,” he said.
“I met great players, not just inside the team but also outside the club, it was seven years of pure happiness.
“When you leave you always feel a bit sad but this club is always in my head, so just good memories.”
Hazard, who has kept in shape because he doesn’t want to look like “Peppa Pig”, is enjoying life away from football.
He does not see a future in professional coaching or management, but would love to help his five children follow him into the game.
“I am enjoying it a lot, I miss being with the lads in the dressing room a bit but I have the freedom to do what I want now,” he told the PA news agency.
“I have kids, I have family, I can go to Belgium to see my mum and dad, so I can do a lot of things.
“I don’t know, now it is just good to be away, but I still love football, for sure I am going to do something in football in the future, but now I just want to relax and enjoy my retirement.
“I don’t think I will coach professionally, but I think I can coach for youth teams. I have kids, and I want to teach them how to play football.”
He will be managed by current Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino in the charity match, with the likes of Usain Bolt and Roberto Carlos joining him in the World XI.
“It’s going to be at Stamford Bridge with friends, so it is going to be a great night,” he said.
“So let’s have fun, score some goals and make the fans happy. They do amazing work, especially when you are a dad and you have kids and you see everything they do for kids.
“You want them to do more and that is why you want people to come to the game to have a good time at Stamford Bridge.”
:: Soccer Aid for Unicef 2024 takes place on June 9 at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, with tickets available at www.socceraid.org.uk/tickets.
Premier League clubs agree in principle to new spending cap
Premier League clubs have voted in favour of the competition potentially creating a spending cap, according to widespread reports.
The Premier League will now work on the studies and legal analysis required to possibly introduce a cap model from the start of the 2025-26 season onwards.
This would replace the current Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), under which Everton and Nottingham Forest have both been deducted points this season, while Leicester City have been charged with a breach.
At a meeting on Monday, 16 clubs voted in favour of the Premier League performing the required analysis. The model will then be presented to club's at the annual general meeting in June, for another vote.
According to reports, Manchester United, Manchester City and Aston Villa voted against the introduction of a spending cap, which would be tied to a multiple of whatever the lowest-earning side receives via the league's centralised broadcast and commercial deals. Chelsea were said to have abstained.
The cap would form part of the Premier League's "squad cost" rules, which will eventually replace the PSR.
While Everton have secured their safety despite suffering two points deductions worth eight points, Nottingham Forest remain in a relegation battle having been docked four points.
Forest will soon find out the result of their appeal, while Everton were set to have their appeal against the second of their deductions heard in the coming weeks.
Leicester, who have been promoted from the Championship, could face a points deduction next season, having been charged with a breach of the Premier League's regulations during the 2022-23 campaign.
Chelsea, meanwhile, seemingly got around the rules due to their ownership selling two Stamford Bridge hotels to another company within their group.
'We need tactics, but also luck' – Tuchel says Bayern up against Madrid 'aura'
Thomas Tuchel has warned his Bayern Munich team they will not only be facing Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals, but also going up against Los Blancos' European "aura".
While Tuchel will leave the Allianz Arena having suffered the ignominy of overseeing Bayern's first failure to win the Bundesliga title since 2012, he could yet bring Europe's top prize to Bavaria.
Bayern reached the last four with a 3-2 aggregate triumph over Arsenal, but they face a daunting task against the team that eliminated holders Manchester City in the last round.
Bayern are winless in their last seven games against Madrid, losing six and drawing one, and Los Blancos have won on their last three trips to the Allianz Arena – the longest winning streak ever recorded by a visiting team at Bayern in European Cup/Champions League history.
Coming up against Madrid in a competition they regard as their own, Tuchel believes, presents an additional challenge.
"When you're playing against Real Madrid, you're also up against the aura and the legend that surrounds them," Tuchel said at Monday's pre-match press conference.
"Obviously we need tactics, but also some luck. You can achieve a lot with tactics. The approach is the car, and the players drive it.
"We need to find a good balance and moments where we have solutions. The players also need freedom to bring it to life.
"But obviously we also need some luck in the game. We need to coax out that luck a bit as well."
Bayern versus Madrid is already the most played fixture in European Cup/Champions League history, taking place 26 times with 24 of those coming in the knockout stages.
Tuchel believes the tie would have been a fitting final, adding: "The semi-final already feels a bit like the final. My approach is to line up like a final.
"We won't approach it with the background that there's still a game to play. We want to play the game in isolation. We have the freedom, we'll put everything in tomorrow and then we'll see."
'I know my worth and I will show it' – Antony vows to silence Man Utd critics
Manchester United winger Antony has pledged to silence his critics after ending his long wait for a Premier League goal on Saturday, saying: "I know my worth and I will show it."
Antony has struggled since swapping Ajax for Old Trafford in an £86million ($108m) deal last year, only managing five goals and three assists in 52 Premier League appearances.
The Brazilian failed to net in his first 26 league games this season before ending his goal drought against Burnley on Saturday, though Zeki Amdouni's late penalty earned the Clarets a 1-1 draw.
Antony was also roundly criticised for taunting Coventry City's players in the aftermath of United's FA Cup semi-final win over the Sky Blues earlier this month, with the Red Devils inching through on penalties after surrendering a 3-0 lead in a 3-3 draw.
Having struggled to live up to expectations since arriving in England, he was asked by The Athletic whether his price tag had put him under additional pressure, but he says that is not the case.
"It doesn't really impact me because I know my worth," Antony said. "The money is the money and obviously everyone speaks about it, but no one would if the performances were at the top.
"It's just a way of working harder, knowing I can get better, I know my worth and I will show it. The critics are going to exist, and they make me want to work harder and prove it to myself first.
"I'm going to keep working, giving everything for the group because it's most important to have a good mentality and to be focused."
Saturday's draw officially ended United's hopes of a top-four finish, heightening speculation regarding the future of manager Erik ten Hag.
While Antony accepts United have not been good enough this season, he is hopeful they can end the campaign on a high with another FA Cup final against Manchester City to come.
"It's been a very tough year for me and the team, the results are not ones we expected," Antony added.
"I am someone who takes criticism very well and I want to work on it, and I think we all have to focus on finishing the season the best we can.
"We still have five games and we have to think game by game, get better and go into the final in the best way possible to win it."
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