Chelsea legend Eden Hazard has finally been inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame.
Between 2012 and 2019, the Belgian notched 85 goals in 245 EPL appearances, served up 54 assists and helped the Blues to two Premier League titles.
Hazard was also named in the Premier League Team of the Season on four occasions and was the Premier League Player of the Season in 2014/15, as well as winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year Awards.
His creativity landed the Premier League Playmaker of the Season gong in 2018/19 – an accolade handed to the individual with the most EPL assists. All told, Hazard averaged a goal involvement at a rate greater than one every other game.
At his induction ceremony, where he was unveiled alongside Gary Neville in the Class of ’25, Hazard said:
“It means a lot to join the Premier League Hall of Fame. I’m very proud to join this group of players and I think we could make a good squad!
“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.”
The Belgian icon was inducted by his former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, who described Hazard as ‘one of the most amazing players that I ever worked with’, before thanking him for helping the Special One to his last Premier League title.
Which Chelsea players will Hazard join in the Premier League Hall of Fame? And which Blues stars, past and present, deserve to be inducted in the near future?
Chelsea Players in the Premier League Hall of Fame
Hazard is the sixth player with a Chelsea connection to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame.
The first was Frank Lampard, who took his place in the inaugural class when the Hall of Fame was first launched in 2021.
The midfield maestro scored 147 Premier League goals for Chelsea and assisted 90 more, helping the club to three of its EPL titles. Lampard won a host of individual awards, while his tally of 279 goal involvements – across his spells with the Blues, West Ham and Manchester City – sees Lamps rank third in the all-time Premier League standings.
In 2022, Didier Drogba was inducted. The Ivorian was a powerhouse for Chelsea, winning four Premier League titles and twice landing the Golden Boot. He was described as a ‘phenomenon’ at his induction, where his incredible record – he averaged 0.41 goals per game in the EPL, making him one of the competition’s most feared frontmen – was recognised.
One of Drogba’s Chelsea teammates, Petr Cech, joined him in the Hall of Fame in 2023.
The Czech goalkeeper is rightly lauded as one of the best in Premier League history, keeping more clean sheets than any other shot stopper as he helped the club to four EPL titles. Cech also won the Golden Glove on four separate occasions.
Two more Chelsea legends of that vintage, John Terry and Ashley Cole, were inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2024.
It’s fitting that they received their honour together, given that Terry and Cole formed part of one of the most robust defences in Premier League history for a decade.
As well as a hatful of Premier League titles, the duo won a host of other trophies at Stamford Bridge and a plethora of individual accolades to boot.
Which Chelsea Players Should Be Inducted Into the Premier League Hall of Fame?
It goes without saying that Mo Salah and Kevin de Bruyne will be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame one day… both have something of a Chelsea connection.
But of the players that have had a more forceful impact at Stamford Bridge, how about Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink? He’s still one of only 34 players (at the time of writing) to have scored 100 or more EPL goals, and his goal-per-game ratio of 0.44 ranks him tenth amongst that vaunted group.
Cesc Fabregas is another contender. His 111 assists put him third in the all-time Premier League standings, with the Spaniard playing a key role in two Chelsea title wins.
You can make a case for the likes of Gianfranco Zola, Claude Makelele and N’Golo Kante too, while the bookmakers would surely offer short odds on Cole Palmer being inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in the future as well.