COMMENT: In the end, it all caught up with him. The kicks. The fouls. The, ahem, desserts... Eden Hazard leaves the pitch celebrated in London. But resented in Madrid...

Regrets? No. Hazard, as he stated in his retirement announcement this week, viewed the game just as that - a game. Something to enjoy. To have fun. And with his natural ability, to earn a living from. But it was never an obsession. It was more a vocation than a profession. An attitude that suited Chelsea and English football. But was anathema for those inside the winning machine that is Real Madrid.

For Hazard, preseason was just that. It was there as a starting point for the new campaign. To run off the extra kilos. To get yourself fit. The idea of preseason being a fine-tuning period after weeks of slogging runs during your holiday was alien to him. Hazard's approach for his last preseason in 2022 was the very same as the young boy at little Brainios over 28 years ago. The Belgian wasn't one for change.

For the €140m shelled out, Real Madrid knew what they were getting. Just as every Chelsea manager had previously. They can't say they weren't warned. Florentino Perez, Real's president, was buying a footballer. A great footballer. But that's all. Not a walking billboard. Not his own industry. Just an absolute pure natural, who had been kicked from pillar-to-post - without complaining - for seven years in England. Florentino must have known even the majesty of Real Madrid wasn't going to change the Belgian.

He had defied Jose Mourinho -and Antonio Conte. Yet both managers still loved him. They couldn't coax Hazard into playing their way. They tried. But in the end surrendered and adjusted their approach to suit the club's No10. As we say, Hazard wasn't one for change.

Long time sources at Cobham would often tell this column, with a wry grin, that Hazard was never one to hang around after training. He'd do his work and then scoot off. Not to a bar. Or some PR function. But back to the family home. Eden, at his core, is a family man. Which is the conundrum that faces frustrated Madridistas today. How can you resent a footballer who simply put time with his family ahead of extra training sessions? Who preferred the experience with his kids setting them an example ahead of leading a locker room of adults?

"He did everything he could and won trophies at every club he played for," said younger brother Kylian last week. "If I were him I would stop. Eden deserves to spend time with his family."

Eden Hazard - great footballer and family man. That's what he was. It's why you don't see a long list of endorsements associated with Hazard. Captain of Belgium. A player of Real Madrid. Of Chelsea. One whom many regard as the Premier League's greatest this past decade. Yet there's no partnerships with blue chip companies. There's no moniker of name and number being slapped on hotel chains or designer clothing. Hazard's endorsements stretched to a bakery and a video game. Eden knows what he likes...

But as we say, in Madrid, it did catch up with him. The Chelsea of Mourinho and Roman Abramovich was one thing. The demands. The expectations. They were huge. But with his talent, they could be met by Hazard. As he said to Loic Remy after the Frenchman's first Cobham training session, "don't worry, I'm the boss here". As talented as Chelsea's dressing room was during Hazard's years, he was always the outstanding one. No matter the player. Nor the manager. They all worked themselves around Hazard.

But at Real Madrid, such an approach was never going to work. Even at €140m, he was simply one more. The opportunity was there, but he had to grab it. But the toll on his body - and that unwillingness to change - caught up with him. That Florentino avoided major scrutiny for the Belgian's signing was another example of what Real Madrid is. The club didn't wait for Hazard. They didn't have to. They simply moved on. Vinicius Jr. Rodrygo Goes. And now Jude Bellingham. They find their stars and churn out results. Even a transfer fee as high as Hazard's doesn't offer any special treatment.

So they missed out, did the Madridista support. But perhaps it was a marriage that was never going to work. Two parties at the opposite ends of elite football.

"My favourite player in recent years is Eden Hazard," said France's new U21 coach and former Barcelona striker Thierry Henry this week. "He's been... Wow! But he is an instinctive player! The only thing you have to do is give him guidelines about the areas in which he will receive the ball and be able to express himself.

"In the structure, he does what he wants. How many times have I sat on the bench and said to myself: 'What the hell is he doing? Oh bravo!'"

Eden Hazard. With his instinct. His talent. As Henry says, "he did what he wanted". But in the end, in Madrid, it all eventually caught up with him.