‘I don’t want to look like Peppa Pig’, says Hazard as ex-Chelsea star reveals what he’s doing to stay fit in retirement
EDEN HAZARD believes he can still be tum-thing special – after promising not to end up “like Peppa Pig”!
The Chelsea legend, 33, quit playing last October following four injury-hit years with Real Madrid.
But after battling weight issues in pre-season during his career, Hazard is determined to chop out such problems in the future.
Above all, the 126-cap Belgian is determined to impress back on the Stamford Bridge pitch.
Hazard will line up for for Unicef’s World XI against an England team managed by former Chelsea team-mate Frank Lampard on June 9.
He can laugh all the way to much more than the piggy bank after bringing home the bacon on more than £20million a year at Real.
But pride is at stake in the charity match, as well as his reputation at the ground where he enjoyed the finest seven years of his career.
Hazard told The Standard: “I don’t want to look like Peppa Pig!
“I play tennis, padel, run a bit, I play football with my friends and stay active.”
After announcing his Bernabeu exit last summer, Hazard was linked with his brother Kylian’s Belgian top-flight team RWD Molenbeek, plus MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps and Saudi Arabian clubs.
But he went the whole hog by retiring – and has “no regrets” over making such a decision such young.
The former Lille hero said of his post-playing days: “I enjoy it a lot.
“I miss my football a bit, especially being with the lads in the dressing room, but I can do what I want now.”
Hazard won LaLiga twice and the Champions League once with Real after his £100million arrival from Chelsea in 2019.
But he says his Stamford Bridge stint was his “best memory” in football.
He lifted two Premier League crowns and the FA Cup with the Blues, also being the country’s double player of the year in 2015.