Where did Hatem Ben Arfa go? Since his move to Lille in 2022, where he stayed six months for only 9 small matches played (0 goals), the French international (15 caps, 2 goals) has never been seen on the green rectangle again. However, the now 38-year-old striker has never made the end of his career official.
If the question of a return of “HBA” to a club can therefore arise, we are clearly not taking the path. Since he put away his crampons, the former Lyonnais has devoted himself to his new passion, padel. An activity that he practices almost every day.
Although he has moved away from the football fields, Hatem Ben Arfa is still in people's minds. It must be said that the kid from Clamart was considered one of the greatest talents of his generation, and delighted the public with his devastating dribbles. For Eden Hazard, the Frenchman is also the best dribbler he has seen play in his career, with Gaël Kakuta.
Eden Hazard: “These are players who made me dream”
“ Hatem Ben Arfa and Gaël Kakuta are the two greatest dribblers I have seen play. They may not have always made the right career choices, they certainly have regrets. We can't rewrite history, but for me, these are players who made me dream », indicated the former Belgian playmaker to SoFoot.
The ex-Madrilenian regrets that he has fewer and fewer players like Ben Arfa in today's football. “ We see that football has changed over the last ten years. There are still Cherki, Doué, Doku, but we realize that there are fewer and fewer dribblers”he laments, and notices a trend: “ When you look at young players now, from 10-12 years old, they are already very strong, they go fast, but it is less focused on technique. ” Yes, ”
football has changed “.
