If Italy is a boot, Lecce sits right on the heel. It is here, deep in the countryside a few kilometres outside the baroque city, that the noise of the Bernabéu and the intensity of Stamford Bridge feel like a lifetime ago. The setting is rustic, quiet and slow-paced: a stark contrast to the frenetic energy that defined Eden Hazard’s career on the pitch.

It has been almost three years since he stopped playing, and the silence since his retirement at 32 has been notable. After an injury-hit spell at Real Madrid brought a premature end to a dazzling career, Hazard did not seek the spotlight. Surrounded by vineyards rather than defenders, slumped in an armchair, he seems entirely at peace, remarkably comfortable with his life after football.

“Life goes really fast,” Hazard says, leaning back, “especially in football. Yesterday I was 19, today I’m 35. You have to enjoy it, not just in football but in everything.”

Eden Hazard celebrates after scoring for Chelsea: ‘The Premier League is more physical; you never stop running. La Liga is more technical.’ Photograph: Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC/Getty Images

While many players struggle with the void left by the game, Hazard has found solace in simplicity. “Your family is what helps you,” he says. “My life is simple: I stay home and enjoy the simple things with my wife, kids, and brothers. When you play, you travel constantly, but when you stop, you finally have time for them without the stress.”

He still lives in Madrid, a choice made not for football, but for “the family, the kids, the weather, and the food”. He jokes about his new reality. “I never trained at 10am! I just played on Saturday and that was it,” he says with a smile. “Now my life is quite simple. I’m a dad of five. In this moment, I’m more of a taxi driver than a football player, but it’s OK.”

Distance from the game has afforded him perspective on the two domestic leagues that defined him. The debate between the Premier League and La Liga is eternal, but Hazard has a clear position. “They have different styles of play,” he says. “The Premier League is more physical; you never stop running. La Liga is more technical. At Madrid, you can manage the game, but in the Premier League, there is no chance: you have to go full speed for 90 minutes.”

Talk of England inevitably leads to José Mourinho, who coached him at Chelsea. Everyone seems to have a Mourinho story, but Hazard’s is quintessentially Hazard: a mix of brilliance and a laid-back attitude that somehow worked.

“I don’t have just one, I have many,” he says with a laugh. “I remember once, during the first year Mourinho arrived, I went to Lille to watch a game and lost my passport on the way back.” The consequences were immediate. “I wasn’t allowed back into England and missed training. I returned around 2pm. When the session was over, I had to apologise to him. It was a really bad moment for me.”

For many, that would be the end. For Hazard, it was only a blip. “The next week, he pulled me out of the team and said it was my fault, but by the weekend I was back playing and it went well.”

Hazard runs with the ball during the Russia 2018 World Cup. ‘Being the captain of my country was something unbelievable.’ Photograph: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images

Despite the friction, the respect remains. “So many things,” he replies when asked what he learned from the Portuguese manager. “His passion for football, the way he trusts players … the way we trained with him was unbelievable.”

If Chelsea were where he became an idol, Belgium was where he carried the hopes of a nation. He speaks of the 2018 World Cup with a glow. “It’s not necessarily funny, but the 2018 World Cup was incredible. I had the chance to play with my brother. Being the captain of my country was something unbelievable.”

Belgium finished third in that tournament, a result that haunts some but satisfies Hazard. “It’s total happiness,” he says. “We felt that Belgium were incredible during those years. Even though we didn’t win, people today say we were a better team than France.” There is a pause, and a flash of pride. “That makes me proud: not because we won, but because of what we created together.”

He still follows the national team – “the manager is a friend of mine” – and visits Belgium for holidays, though he prefers the Madrid weather. But if he were to trade his taxi-driver duties for political office in his homeland, prime minister Hazard has a clear manifesto.

“Kids today love PlayStation and YouTube,” he says. “My No 1 rule would be: go play on the street, play football, and enjoy it with your friends. Maybe no school on Fridays: only Monday to Thursday, and then you play football all weekend.”

Looking back, he cites the 2018 World Cup quarter-final against Brazil as his best game. But what about his favourite goal? “Maybe the one against Tottenham,” he says of the curling equaliser in the dying minutes of the Battle of the Bridge in 2016. That goal didn’t just secure a 2-2 draw, it effectively ended Spurs’ title hopes and handed the trophy to Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester.

He lifted the Champions League with Real Madrid in 2022. “It’s a great feeling,” he says, “because you play for the crowd and the trophies. The Champions League is one of the best trophies to win. Even if I didn’t play much, just being there in a club that wins so much and playing with such great players was unbelievable.”

Yet he places the Premier League, won twice with Chelsea, on the same pedestal: “Winning the Premier League is very hard, just like the Champions League or the World Cup. It’s special because so many teams can win it.”

The most underrated player he played alongside? He doesn’t hesitate: “I always thought Mousa Dembélé was one of the best midfielders of that generation. People didn’t talk about him much because he didn’t score goals, but the fans in the Premier League know he was a top, top player.”

So why are we in Lecce? The connection comes via an old friend. “It started with Willian, my ex-teammate at Chelsea,” Hazard says. “He spoke with me about it and said: ‘Please, can you join us?’” The “us” in question is our host, Fabio Cordella. A sporting director by trade, Cordella decided at one point to build his own fantasy team: not on the pitch, but in the vineyard. He has assembled a “squad” of legends, recruiting the likes of Ronaldinho, Andriy Shevchenko, Iván Zamorano, and Gianluigi Buffon to create their own signature bottles. Hazard is the latest star to join this vintage lineup.

Hazard admits he was not a big drinker during his playing days, but he sees a parallel between the barrel and the ball: “It’s a bit like football: it’s not just about one game, it’s about a career of 10 or 15 years.” And does his wine resemble the player? “Yes, of course,” he says with a grin. “This wine is elegant, just like me.”

Hazard has no desire to be remembered as a legend. “Just as a good player and a good, funny guy. I don’t need anything more than that.”

He has found a new meaning now. “It’s a bottle of wine and family,” he says, painting a picture of his future. “I see my future as a happy grandfather with white hair, surrounded by my kids. That is the life I want.” (The Guardian)

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