After ending his three-year spell that was filled with injuries and bad luck at Real Madrid, Eden Hazard remained out of the spotlight despite being a free agent.
A change of fortunes for the Belgian seems to be on the cards as the Premier League (PL) club Crystal Palace is preparing a shock move for Hazard, reported The Guardian on Friday.
After parting ways with Wilfried Zaha, Palace's manager Roy Hudson is keen to acquire the services of the Belgian.
Hazard was considering retirement after his disappointing spell with the Whites but a move to the PL, which he dominated for about six to seven years, could tempt the 32-year-old to stop thinking about calling time on his career.
One of the most entertaining footballers of the last 20 years, Hazard made his way to the English Premier League in 2012 as he put pen to paper with Chelsea after dominating Ligue 1 as a teenager.
During his time with the Blues, the left-winger won the League title twice and was also named the club's 2014-15 Player of the Year.
Hazard joined Real Madrid in the 2019 summer transfer window which was the biggest signing of that time.
Despite having a poor start to his Madrid career — as he arrived out of shape — the Belgian footballer turned things around by working on his fitness and slowly became a key player of Madrid's then-manager Zinedine Zidane's system.
Hazard's most memorable game with Los Blancos was against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League 2019-20 which ended in a 2-2 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu in November 2019.
The Belgian was in top form, he was the centre of every one of Madrid's attacking moves.
But in the 68th minute, his Belgian teammate, Thomas Meunier tried to win the ball and ended up hitting Hazard's right ankle which was the start of the 32-year-old's demise at the club of his dreams.
He went through multiple ankle surgeries but the former Chelsea star could never get his old self back and continued to struggle with fitness as well as form.
