There aren’t many in the game that were as entertaining as Eden Hazard in his prime. Now, the former Chelsea star is being introduced to a new generation as an EA FC ICON in the latest edition of the ever-popular gaming franchise, EAFC 26. And we spent some time with the Belgian, to get insight into the honour, as well as diving into what made him tick.
If Kaká was football’s poet, Eden Hazard was its prankster — the kind of player who could twist the rhythm of a game with a single glide, a grin, and a drop of the shoulder. Now stepping into the EA Sports FC universe as an icon in FC26, the Belgian sits comfortably among icons who didn’t just play the game, but shaped how it felt.
“It’s easy for me,” he smiles when asked about his own heroes. “Zizou. He was the guy for us. Me and my brothers watched that French team from ‘98 a lot. But Zidane was my favourite for sure.”
There’s something fitting in that choice. Zidane played like he was painting; Hazard, like he was sketching in the streets — loose, instinctive, never bound by the frame.
Hazard’s football has always been about joy. The kind that can’t be coached, just cultivated. “It was always important to enjoy the game. To play free. That’s when I have the most enjoyment and that’s when I could always play my best,” he says. “We had a pitch just a few metres away from where I lived. We were always playing, always enjoying the game from young.”
That purity followed him all the way to London, where he’d go on to etch his name into Chelsea folklore. “The love I have from the Chelsea fans is really special,” he says, his face softening. “I always love to go back to London. To take my kids to Stamford Bridge is always a nice feeling. The memories we made there were some very special ones. It feels like home, y’know?”
There was a time — 2018 — when Hazard declared himself the best in the world. He said it with a grin, but he meant it. “To play at the same time as Messi and Ronaldo, it’s impossible to really be the best,” he admits. “But at that time I was playing my best football. Sometimes you have to tell yourself these things… the belief always gave me this confidence to play better.”
That self-assurance was never arrogance — it was the creative’s armour. A reminder that confidence fuels expression.
When asked who reminds him of himself, Hazard lights up. “Obviously at Chelsea there’s Cole Palmer who is a great player. Lamine Yamal too. And of course the guys at Madrid — Vini, Rodrygo… Bellingham as well. I love these kinds of players!”
It’s a thread that runs through generations: footballers who make you smile, who play as if joy itself is the tactic. “The fans are the ones that make the game special,” he adds. “The feeling of scoring a goal was like a magical one every time!”
And if there’s one thing he doesn’t miss? “Ah. Travelling!” he laughs — a reminder that even football’s artists have their limits.
Fans have been vocal in their calls to see him immortalised as an EA FC ICON. Hazard, ever humble, shrugs it off with trademark charm. “It’s not for me to say these kinds of things but it’s a good feeling, y’know? Good to know the fans still respect you and remember what you did in the game. It feels nice. It feels good.”
As for how he wants to be remembered? The answer is as effortless as his football ever was. “Just a chill guy. Liked to enjoy. Liked to play the game the right way. A good player, a good teammate. These are the things that are really important to me.”
In an era where intensity often outweighs expression, Hazard’s story — like Kaká’s before him — reminds us that the game’s truest magic still lies in freedom. In joy. In the beautiful simplicity of playing with a smile.
EA Sports FC 26 is available for purchase now across multiple platforms.
