Eden Hazard has revealed he would always return to pre-season "four or five kilos" overweight as he simply wanted to enjoy the time off with his family over the summer.
Hazard decided to retire from football last year aged just 32, following an ill-fated spell at Real Madrid where he struggled with injuries and failed to make the same impact he did during his seven seasons at Chelsea.
The forward was accused of turning up to pre-season overweight after signing for Real in 2019 and was asked if that was true in an appearance on the Obi One Podcast with his former Chelsea teammate John Obi Mikel.
"It was true," Hazard admitted. "But me, every summer I was putting on four or five kilos because I was thinking you give so much for 10 months, you put your body at the highest level and people kick you, so your time off is your time off.
"Don't ask me to do anything. I enjoy being with my family, going to the beach, so don't ask me to run in those three or four weeks. I can play football on the beach with my kids, no problem, but don't ask me to run.
"But if you look throughout my career, the first month [of the season] is the bit where I was thinking it's just the beginning, and then from September and October I was flying, because I needed time to put my body and mind in the best way.
"So yes, it's true, I came back after holidays with five kilos, I knew it." Hazard also revealed he loves drinking beer as Belgium makes the "best beers in the world", but insisted he would not "drink every day".
He added: "As a Belgian guy, we love beers because my country has the best beers in the world, so I'm not telling you I used to drink every day because it's not true, but sometimes after a good game, one or two is nice. The feeling is even better after you play a good game."
Hazard's comments come after he called Real a "big-headed club" in an interview with France Football earlier this month. "It's easy to say now since I was little, I was a fan of Zidane. There was Zidane, so I liked Real. The Bernabeu, white jersey, there is a charm that the others don't have.
"Real is special. Afterwards, I don't think so. It is not me. It's a bit of a big-headed club, and I'm not really like that. Even the way of playing didn't suit me, if you compare with other clubs. But it was my dream. I couldn't stop my career without coming here."
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