Do we like them?Do we like Eden Hazard?
Our score: 6 out of 10. Decent on the record we could open, but the record is thin, and a gambling sponsorship and a dismissive 2022 comment both count against him.
Hazard is the Belgian winger who made Chelsea fans fall in love with him, and he retired in October 2023 aged 32. He came through Lille, starred at Chelsea, then moved to Real Madrid, where injuries wrecked most of his time. He also played for Belgium's so-called golden generation.
Nothing new on his football, because he is retired. The news lately is about what he does with his name. In March 2026 he was unveiled as a global ambassador for Stake, ahead of the World Cup, in a deal the trade press called much-discussed.
Belgium's gaming regulator then said it would look at his promotion of the brand. Stake has no Belgian licence and sits on the country's blacklist of gambling sites, according to trade reports. A spokesperson said that if the content breaks national rules, the operator and Hazard could face removal orders and administrative sanctions. No finding turned up in what we could find, so treat it as an open question, not a verdict.
On the harm check, the main thing is his comment at the 2022 World Cup about Germany's OneLove armband protest. He said “We are here to play football” and that he wasn't there to send a political message. Some read that as a player keeping out of politics, and others as brushing off a gesture about inclusion. Either way, it is a dismissive comment, not a campaign against anyone.
Beyond that, we found no campaigning against LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or the climate, and no slide into conspiracy theories. We also didn't find any harmful company he keeps, apart from the gambling brand. Gambling harm is real, so fronting a platform that Belgian regulators are examining is a mark against him.
On the good side, he had a long, celebrated career and left on his own terms. The reporting we could open has little about charity or how he treats people, so we can't say much either way. That is the honest answer, and it keeps the score in the middle, not near the top.