in Soccer

Ex-Chelsea star Hazard branded ‘little fat man’ by Belgian mayor and ridiculed for scoffing burger after being subbed

179 Views


EDEN HAZARD was branded a ‘little fat man’ in a scathing attack by a Belgian politician.

And Jean-Marie Dedecker ridiculed the winger for scoffing a burger back in 2011.

Eden Hazard was branded a ‘little fat man’ by a Belgian mayor
Jean-Marie Dedecker made the brutal comments and referenced the 2011 incident with BelgiumCredit: AFP

The 69-year-old, currently mayor of Middelkerke in northern Belgium, piled in on the national team captain in an interview with newspaper Krant van West-Vlaanderen reported by Mundo Deportivo.

Referencing the bizarre incident when 5ft 8ins Hazard was 20, Dedecker said: “The whole press complains about him.

“Actually, he is just a little fat man who has gotten fat by the system and the money.

“I can still see him flee when Georges Leekens replaced him and had a hamburger near King Baudouin Stadium.”

Hazard, then shining for Lille, had earned a starting spot for his country in their Euro 2012 qualifier against Turkey.

But when manager Leekens subbed the now-Real Madrid man off with half an hour to go, the forward reacted furiously.

@font-face{font-family:’The Sun’;src:url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Regular.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Regular.woff’) format(‘woff’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Regular.ttf’) format(‘truetype’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Regular.svg#’) format(‘svg’);font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-display:swap;}@font-face{font-family:’The Sun’;src:url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Medium.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Medium.woff’) format(‘woff’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Medium.ttf’) format(‘truetype’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Medium.svg#’) format(‘svg’);font-style:normal;font-weight:500;font-display:swap;}@font-face{font-family:’The Sun’;src:url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-HeavyNarrow.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-HeavyNarrow.woff’) format(‘woff’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-HeavyNarrow.ttf’) format(‘truetype’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-HeavyNarrow.svg#’) format(‘svg’);font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-stretch:semi-condensed;font-display:swap;}@font-face{font-family:’The Sun’;src:url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Bold.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Bold.woff’) format(‘woff’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Bold.ttf’) format(‘truetype’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Bold.svg#’) format(‘svg’);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;font-stretch:normal;font-display:swap;}@font-face{font-family:’The Sun’;src:url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-HeavyNarrow.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-HeavyNarrow.woff’) format(‘woff’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-HeavyNarrow.ttf’) format(‘truetype’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-HeavyNarrow.svg#’) format(‘svg’);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;font-stretch:condensed;font-display:swap;}.css-qu9fel{border-top:1px solid #dcdddd;}.css-b9nmbi{margin-bottom:16px;border-top:1px solid #dcdddd;}

.css-1qsre5o{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;height:100%;-webkit-align-items:flex-start;-webkit-box-align:flex-start;-ms-flex-align:flex-start;align-items:flex-start;-webkit-align-content:flex-start;-ms-flex-line-pack:flex-start;align-content:flex-start;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;-webkit-box-pack:justify;-webkit-justify-content:space-between;justify-content:space-between;}

.css-q8gelu{margin-bottom:24px;}.css-7ysxcx{padding:0;text-transform:uppercase;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-7ysxcx:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-jkwlot{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;height:100%;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;-webkit-box-pack:justify;-webkit-justify-content:space-between;justify-content:space-between;padding:0;text-transform:uppercase;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-jkwlot:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}

.css-zkaekv{font-family:The Sun;font-size:24px;line-height:1.1666666666666667;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:semi-condensed;padding:1px 0px;}.css-zkaekv::before{content:”;display:block;height:0;width:0;margin-bottom:calc(-0.24520833333333342em + -1px);}.css-zkaekv::after{content:”;display:block;height:0;width:0;margin-top:-0.2333333333333334em;}

.css-1lobn43{display:inline;font:inherit;margin:0;color:rgba(0,0,0,1);}.css-1lobn43 svg{fill:rgba(0,0,0,1);}

Most read in Football

.css-1gojmfd{margin-bottom:16px;}

.css-zdjvqv{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;height:100%;-webkit-align-items:flex-start;-webkit-box-align:flex-start;-ms-flex-align:flex-start;align-items:flex-start;-webkit-align-content:flex-start;-ms-flex-line-pack:flex-start;align-content:flex-start;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;-webkit-box-pack:space-around;-ms-flex-pack:space-around;-webkit-justify-content:space-around;justify-content:space-around;margin-top:calc(-12px/2);margin-bottom:calc(-12px/2);}.css-zdjvqv:before,.css-zdjvqv:after{content:”;display:block;}

.css-1meuhfk{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;margin-top:calc(12px/2);margin-bottom:calc(12px/2);}

FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN NEW CUSTOMER DEALS

He stormed past his coach and straight down the tunnel.

But Hazard did not stop there.

With the match still going on, he left the stadium and was later pictured munching a burger at a fast-food restaurant in Brussels with the rest of his family.

The shocking pictures were splashed across newspapers in Belgium causing Leekens to dish out a two-game suspension for the star’s unprofessionalism.

Hazard now sees the funny side of the story.

When asked what sauce was in the famous hamburger, he told RTBF in 2019: “It was Andalusian, it has always been my favourite sauce.

“I have some pots in London, I ask mum to bring me some back every time she comes.

“That night, I did a stupid thing but the story of the hamburger, we talk about it in a joke, it’s in quotation marks what makes my legend with the selection [of Belgium].”

But the association between Hazard, 31, and food did not end there.

He was once described as the ‘greediest member of Belgium’s current squad’ by team chef Wym Casteleyn.

DAMNING DAMIEN

And since signing a reported £416,000-a-week contract at Real Madrid in 2019, the attacker has twice been slammed for turning up to pre-season overweight.

He claimed to shed the five kilos in ‘ten days’ but Damien Duff blasted Hazard last season.

The Irishman said: “You’d worry for him going forward. He relies on sharpness, being a quick dribbler.

“He’s never been a top pro and he’s never had the drive of [Lionel] Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo. If he did, you’d probably be mentioning him with them two players.

“He turned up for his first pre-season at Real Madrid – Galactico, 160 million [euros] – overweight. Fat. Call it what you want.

“To be signed by Real Madrid, 160 million, you turn up to pre-season in the shape of your life.

“And he turned up overweight because he was on holiday. I ain’t having that.”

The flop has managed just five goals in 59 appearances in two-and-a-half injury-hit years since joining Los Blancos from Chelsea.

The winger has managed just five goals in 59 Real Madrid matches, with none this seasonCredit: Getty

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk

Tagcloud: FootballLa Liga

Capacity crowds allowed back at major sport events in Scotland like football and rugby, says Nicola Sturgeon

Algeria 0 Sierra Leone 0 LIVE REACTION: AFCON champions fail to impress in drab opening group game – latest updates