4 days ago
10
Stamford Bridge legend
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On Wednesday the Premier League announced that former Chelsea star Eden Hazard was the latest player to be inducted into the league’s hall of fame. The Belgian becomes the sixth former Stamford Bridge regular to have his name etched in history, with the league presenting the former winger with an engraved medallion for the occasion.
“I grew up playing football for fun, with my brothers in the back garden, but my dream was always to play at the highest level,” Hazard said in an interview with Chelsea. “I just wanted to have fun on the pitch and entertain the fans who bought tickets or watched on TV. Being recognised in this way is special for me and my family. My parents were both footballers and now my children love the game too.”
After making a €35 million move to the London club in 2012 from French side Lille, Hazard wasted no time at all establishing himself as one of the best players in the Premier League and unquestionably one of the most gifted players in all of European football. Over the course of his 11 years at Stamford Bridge, Hazard scored 110 goals and 88 assists in 352 games across all competitions, as well as winning two Premier League titles, two Europa League trophies and the FA Cup in 2018.
To no great surprise, Hazard’s market value also soared during his peak years at Stamford Bridge. When he made the move to Chelsea, the Belgian winger had a market value of just €33m, but that rose steadily over the next six years and ultimately hit an incredible high of €150m. And while that figure may have fallen just as quickly during some tough years at Real Madrid, it was unquestionably a record for any Chelsea player and one that remains intact to this day.
As we can see in the table above, Hazard still remains the most valuable player to have ever played for Chelsea. In second place is none other than Cole Palmer, whose peak market value came last year when he hit €130m. The England international’s market value has fallen by €10m since then, but few would doubt that the 23-year-old talent possesses the potential to certainly rival Hazard’s influence at the club and perhaps reach the Belgian’s former heights.
Three other current Chelsea players make the top 10 list, with Moisés Caicedo sitting fifth with a current market value of €100m, while Enzo Fernández takes sixth place when his market value hit a high of €85m in 2023. Reece James, who enjoyed a market value of €70m three years ago, just makes it into the top 10. However, while all three are enjoying good runs of for with Chelsea at this moment in time, it seems unlikely that any of them will ever be able to knock Hazard off top spot.
