{"id":293294,"date":"2023-10-12T20:09:29","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T20:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=293294"},"modified":"2023-10-12T20:09:29","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T20:09:29","slug":"which-other-footballing-greats-have-retired-too-soon-like-eden-hazard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/which-other-footballing-greats-have-retired-too-soon-like-eden-hazard\/","title":{"rendered":"Which other footballing greats have retired too soon like Eden Hazard?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Eric Cantona &#8216;lost the passion&#8217; at 30, heart problems cut Sergio Aguero&#8217;s glittering career short &#8211; and Marco van Basten played his last game at just 28! The footballers who retired &#8216;too soon&#8217; as Eden Hazard hangs up his boots<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Eden Hazard posts an emotional farewell message: &#8216;I made my dream come true&#8217;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>England hopeful Dean Ashton was another to have his career cut short aged 26<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport&#8217;s podcast &#8216;It&#8217;s All Kicking Off!&#8217;\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Following a hugely successful career at both international and club level, Eden Hazard\u00a0announced his retirement from professional football this week at the age of 32.<\/p>\n<p>The Belgian started out playing for French side Lille before he moved to Chelsea in 2012, where he scored 85 goals in 245 appearances winning two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, the League Cup and the Europa League.<\/p>\n<p>Hazard has decided to call it quits on his playing career\u00a0after his Real Madrid contract was terminated this summer, leaving him without a club.<\/p>\n<p>With many fans feeling Hazard had more to offer in the twilight of his career, which other footballing greats hung up their boots prematurely?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>From Eric Cantona &#8216;losing the passion&#8217; at the age of 30 to Ryan Mason suffering a career-ending injury at the age of 26, Mail Sport looks at some footballers who left the professional game &#8216;too soon&#8217;.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/11\/10\/76420085-12618315-image-a-12_1697018184277.jpg\" height=\"395\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Eden Hazard, who has retired at the age of 32, holds the Barclays Premiere League trophy<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/11\/11\/76423051-12618315-image-a-13_1697021117772.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The former Chelsea star has been without a club since Real Madrid released him this summer<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p><span>Fabrice Muamba<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One of the saddest early retirements in football came in August 2012, when Fabrice Muamba announced he would be forced to hang up his boots.<\/p>\n<p>The Bolton\u00a0Wanderers midfielder had suffered a cardiac arrest against Tottenham in a televised FA Cup match in March that year.<\/p>\n<p>Despite having his heart stop beating for 78 minutes,\u00a0Muamba, who was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, miraculously recovered.<\/p>\n<p>Following medical advice, however, he announced his retirement that August at the age of 24.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Now Muamba, 35, has moved into a coaching role at his former club Bolton working in a role with their academy team after spending time in broadcasting.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/11\/10\/76420095-12618315-image-a-1_1697018106041.jpg\" height=\"392\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Fabrice Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest against Tottenham in an FA Cup match in 2012<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/11\/11\/76420099-12618315-The_former_Bolton_footballer_has_now_moved_into_a_coaching_role_-a-1_1697019371986.jpg\" height=\"711\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The former Bolton footballer has now moved into a coaching role at the club&#8217;s academy level<\/p>\n<p><span>Dean Ashton\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The former West Ham striker has long been referred to as a &#8216;what if&#8217; player for club and country had he not been forced into an early retirement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After suffering a nasty ankle injury during England training in 2006 one day before his planned senior debut, Dean Ashton failed to fully recover and retired three years later at the age of 26.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ashton, who is now 39, previously said &#8216;there&#8217;s not a day that goes by where I don&#8217;t think about still wanting to play&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/12\/18\/76420077-12618315-Dean_Ashton_was_the_nation_s_next_great_hope_before_an_injury_in-m-5_1697130608903.jpg\" height=\"655\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Dean Ashton was the nation&#8217;s next great hope before an injury in training derailed his career<\/p>\n<p><span>Ryan Mason<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After progressing through the youth ranks at Tottenham, Ryan Mason played his first Premier League match in 2014 and established himself as part of the first team set-up.<\/p>\n<p>Mason, who won one cap for England, became Hull City&#8217;s record signing when he joined the club in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>The midfielder suffered a fractured skull one year later during a match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, following a clash of heads with Gary Cahill.<\/p>\n<p>After receiving prolonged treatment and advice from medical specialists, he decided to retire from professional football in February 2018 at the age of 26.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Mason, 32, is now part of Ange Postecoglou&#8217;s coaching staff at his boyhood club.<\/p>\n<p>He has previously had two spells as Tottenham&#8217;s interim head coach, becoming the Premier League&#8217;s youngest ever manager in 2021.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/12\/18\/76485715-12618315-image-a-6_1697130785686.jpg\" height=\"431\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Ryan Mason was forced to retire after he suffered a fractured skull against Chelsea in 2017<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/12\/18\/76485729-12618315-image-a-7_1697130790201.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Mason, 32, is now a key part of Ange\u00a0Postecoglou&#8217;s coaching set-up at Tottenham<\/p>\n<p><span>Marco Van Basten\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Marco Van Basten is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, scoring 300 goals in a glittering high-profile career.<\/p>\n<p>However, after suffering a casualty of injuries the Dutch maestro played his last match in 1993 at the age of 28 due to an ankle injury that forced him to retire two years later.<\/p>\n<p>He made his last appearance for the Dutch National team as captain on October 145, 1992, against Poland in a World Cup qualifier.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The striker would later go on to become the head coach of Ajax and the Netherlands national team.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/12\/19\/76487861-12618315-image-a-8_1697134909377.jpg\" height=\"467\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Marco Van Basten retired aged 28 and would go on to coach the Dutch national team<\/p>\n<p><span>George Best<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While the Northern Irish legend technically retired at the age of 37 in 1983 after playing four games for Brisbane Lions, George Best&#8217;s real playing days were behind him when he first gave up football in 1974 just before his 28th birthday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After making 470 appearances for Manchester United, winning the league title twice, the European Cup and the Ballon d&#8217;Or, Best struggled with alcoholism for much of his adult life.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After football, he went on to spend some time as an analyst for the sport before his death in November 2005 at the age of 59.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/11\/11\/76420083-12618315-George_Best_first_retired_from_football_aged_27_in_1974_before_m-a-5_1697019372005.jpg\" height=\"626\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>George Best first retired from football aged 27 in 1974 before making several short comebacks<\/p>\n<p><span>Eric Cantona\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>While at the height of his powers as a footballer, Eric Cantona decided to retire at the age of 30 in 1997.<\/p>\n<p>The French genius scored 64 goals in 143 appearances for Manchester United from 1992 until 1997 before he ended his career.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Explaining his decision in his book Fever Pitch: The rise of the Premier League, he said: &#8216;I am afraid about one thing &#8211; the emptiness. I hate emptiness.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;When I lost the passion, lost the fire in me, I just retired. I tried to light it again but I knew it was the end.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>In 2004 he would then go on to be named alongside Pele in the FIFA 100 list of the world&#8217;s greatest living players.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/11\/11\/76420081-12618315-French_footballer_Eric_Cantona_decided_to_call_it_quits_while_at-a-6_1697019372011.jpg\" height=\"553\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>French footballer Eric Cantona decided to call it quits while at Manchester United in 1997<\/p>\n<p><span>Jack Wilshere<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Once rated as one of the best young footballers in the world after his breakthrough at Arsenal, Jack Wilshere was plagued by a string of injuries that ultimately forced an early retirement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Following stints at Bournemouth, West Ham and Danish club AGF, the former England international announced he was hanging his boots up at the age of 30 last year.<\/p>\n<p>After coming up through the Gunners youth academy, he is now the head coach of Arsenal&#8217;s udner-18 team.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/11\/11\/76420181-12618315-Jack_Wilshere_pictured_playing_for_his_final_club_AGF_retired_la-a-7_1697019372013.jpg\" height=\"427\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Jack Wilshere, pictured playing for his final club AGF, retired last year at the young age of 30<\/p>\n<p><span>Patrick Kluivert<\/span><\/p>\n<p>After bursting on to the scene as a teenager, Patrick Kluivert lit the world when he scored the winner in the Champions League final as an 18-year-old with Ajax in 1995.<\/p>\n<p>Next, he moved on to AC Milan, Barcelona and Newcastle United, but the Dutchman&#8217;s career began to stall.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Following spells with Valencia, PSV Eindhoven and Lille,\u00a0Kluivert decided to call things a day in 2008 at the age of 32.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/11\/11\/76420079-12618315-Striker_Patrick_Kluivert_retired_in_2008_after_spells_with_Valen-a-8_1697019372018.jpg\" height=\"914\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Striker Patrick Kluivert retired in 2008 after spells with\u00a0Valencia, PSV Eindhoven and Lille<\/p>\n<p><span>Jamie Redknapp\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Despite spending nearly 12 years at Liverpool and playing 18 times for England, Jamie Redknapp was forced to retire at the age of 31 in 2005.<\/p>\n<p>Coincidentally, it happened to be the same day the Reds won the Champions League final in Istanbul.<\/p>\n<p>Redknapp, now 50, was blighted with injury issues throughout his career, going through more than a dozen surgery procedures.<\/p>\n<p>The former Tottenham and Southampton midfielder now works as a Sky Sports pundit and columnist.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/11\/11\/76419993-12618315-Jamie_Redknapp_was_plagued_by_injury_which_forced_an_early_retir-a-9_1697019372021.jpg\" height=\"585\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Jamie Redknapp was plagued by injury which forced an early retirement at the age of 31<\/p>\n<p><span>Sergio Aguero<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Another emotional retirement came when Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero was forced to hang up his boots in 2021 at the age of 33 due to a heart condition diagnosis.<\/p>\n<p>The Argentinian striker had just made a move to Barcelona when he suffered chest pains and dizziness during a 1-1 draw with Alaves in La Liga.<\/p>\n<p>Medical staff then advised it was best that he stop playing to ensure his health and safety.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Having become involved on Twitch during the COVID-19 lockdowns, he has now earned a huge following via streaming.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/11\/11\/76420205-12618315-Sergio_Aguero_announced_his_retirement_while_in_tears_at_the_Nou-a-10_1697019372026.jpg\" height=\"404\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Sergio Aguero announced his retirement while in tears at the Nou Camp in December 2021<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12618315\/Eric-Cantona-lost-passion-30-heart-problems-cut-Sergio-Agueros-glittering-career-short-Marco-van-Basten-played-game-just-28-footballers-retired-soon-Eden-Hazard-hangs-boots.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eric Cantona &#8216;lost the passion&#8217; at 30, heart problems cut Sergio Aguero&#8217;s glittering career short &#8211; and Marco van Basten played his last game at just 28! The footballers who retired &#8216;too soon&#8217; as Eden Hazard hangs up his boots Eden Hazard posts an emotional farewell message: &#8216;I made my dream come true&#8217; England hopeful [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293293,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Which other footballing greats have retired too soon like Eden Hazard? - Sports Life Tale<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/which-other-footballing-greats-have-retired-too-soon-like-eden-hazard\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Which other footballing greats have retired too soon like Eden Hazard? - Sports Life Tale\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Eric Cantona &#8216;lost the passion&#8217; at 30, heart problems cut Sergio Aguero&#8217;s glittering career short &#8211; and Marco van Basten played his last game at just 28! 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The footballers who retired &#8216;too soon&#8217; as Eden Hazard hangs up his boots Eden Hazard posts an emotional farewell message: &#8216;I made my dream come true&#8217; England hopeful [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/which-other-footballing-greats-have-retired-too-soon-like-eden-hazard\/","og_site_name":"Sports Life Tale","article_published_time":"2023-10-12T20:09:29+00:00","author":"Robert","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Which-other-footballing-greats-have-retired-too-soon-like-Eden-Hazard.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Robert","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/which-other-footballing-greats-have-retired-too-soon-like-eden-hazard\/","url":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/which-other-footballing-greats-have-retired-too-soon-like-eden-hazard\/","name":"Which other footballing greats have retired too soon like Eden Hazard? - Sports Life Tale","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-10-12T20:09:29+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-12T20:09:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/which-other-footballing-greats-have-retired-too-soon-like-eden-hazard\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/which-other-footballing-greats-have-retired-too-soon-like-eden-hazard\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/which-other-footballing-greats-have-retired-too-soon-like-eden-hazard\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Soccer","item":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/category\/soccer\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Which other footballing greats have retired too soon like Eden Hazard?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/","name":"Sports Life Tale","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609","name":"Robert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Robert"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293294"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}