The first star player of Belgium's golden generation has drawn the curtains on his international career.
Eden Hazard, a player revered as one of the best in the world a few seasons ago, has officially retired from the Belgium national team following their disastrous campaign at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Real Madrid ace, who was the captain of the Red Devils, made his nation's Qatar 2022 squad despite enduring another injury-ravaged campaign, and as a result, the former Chelsea superstar was unable to go out with a bang.
The 31-year-old started in the first two games, winning the opener against Canada despite the poor performance from Roberto Martinez's men before losing 2-0 to Morocco. Belgium's final fixture was the goalless draw with Croatia, which knocked them out of the tournament, with Eden coming off the bench for that tie.
The attacker went on social media to announce this heartbreaking decision, writing on his official Instagram account: "A page turns today… Thank you for your love. Thank you for your unparalleled support. Thank you for all this happiness shared since 2008. I have decided to put an end to my international career. The succession is ready. I will miss you."
The European heavyweights also took to social media to bid farewell to their skipper and talisman, writing a simple yet heartwarming message for Eden with a picture captioned "thank you".
All the best, captain. #MerciEden pic.twitter.com/Rsa0Mwf18T
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) December 7, 2022
This brings an end to Hazard's 14-year international career, one that began way back in 2008 at the age of 17. Since making his debut, the Blancos ace has gone on to win 126 caps, scoring 33 goals along the way.
The player can now focus on his club and getting his career back on track after enduring injury nightmares since moving to the Santiago Bernabeu. As for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, it has entered the quarterfinal stage, with the last eight kicking off on Friday with Croatia vs. Brazil and the Netherlands vs. Argentina.