CHELSEA STAR TURNS 26 TODAY

Chelsea star Eden Hazard turns 26 today. He was born on 7th of January 1991 in La Louvière, Belgium to a family where football is dominant. His father Thiery and mother Carine were both footballers in Belgium.  His father spent most of his career playing at
semi-professional level in the Belgian Second Division. His mother played as a striker in the Belgian Women’s First Division and stopped playing when she was three months pregnant with Eden. Eden's three younger brothers are footballers, Thorgan is in Chelsea while Kylie who is 17 is in Lille's academy while Ethan plays for Belgian team Tubize.

He began his career in Belgium playing for local clubs Royal Stade Brainois and Tubize. In 2005, he moved to France joining first division club Lille. Hazard spent two years in the club’s academy and, at the age of 16, made his professional debut in November 2007.

In his first full season as a starter, he won the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Young Player of the Year award becoming the first non-French player to win the award. In the 2009–10 season, Hazard captured
the award again becoming the first player to win the award twice. He was also named to the league’s Team of the Year.

He was an integral part of the Lille's team that won the league and a cup double in 2010-2011 season.



Hazard made his senior international debut in November 2008, at the age of 17 years and 316 days, in a friendly match against Luxembourg. Nearly three years after his debut, Hazard scored his first international goal against Kazakhstan in October 2011.



Eden Hazard joined Chelsea from Lille in 2012 for a rumoured £32 million. He scored 9 goals with two seasons following consecutively he scored 14 goals before he went on a goal drought that saw him score just four goals throughout last season. So far this term, he has been very influential with 9 goals and two assists so far. He was PFA player of the year in the 2014-2015.

He is known for his speed and is virtually unstoppable when on the run. One if the best in counter attacks and a great passer of the ball. He has been compared to Lioniel Messi and Christiano Rinaldo.

Happy birthday Eden Hazard