Hazard is used to producing vintage displays on the pitch, but he is now hoping to produce vintages of a different kind. The former Chelsea and Real Madrid star has partnered with Fabio Cordella, the boss of a prestigious Italian wine company, to create a line of wines that promises to be as "elegant and intense" as his playing style.
The collaboration will see Hazard’s name adorn bottles grown in the sun-soaked earth of Salento, Italy. Cordella, a 50-year-old businessman and former sporting director at clubs including Belgian outfit Union Saint-Gilloise, expressed his excitement at the partnership.
“Eden Hazard’s official wine is arriving very soon,” Cordella announced. “When Belgian talent meets the excellence of premium Italian wine, it creates a vintage in Eden’s image – elegant, intense and iconic. A wine of character, born in the earth of Salento, and with the signature of the Fabio Cordella Wines family business.”
The wines are set to go on sale in Italy and Hazard’s native Belgium starting next month. By entering the wine industry, Hazard joins a growing list of footballing royalty who have worked with Cordella’s label, including Brazilian magician Ronaldinho and legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.