Real Madrid star Eden Hazard revealed where he stood in comparison with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi a few years ago when he was still one of the most celebrated soccer superstars in the world.
Hazard quickly rose to prominence and became almost overnight a household name in the English Premier League, having bagged a staggering 85 goals in 245 league appearances, besides winning the 2015 Player of the Season award.
Oddly, Hazard has yet to make an impact in Real Madrid since his record-setting move from Chelsea and reflecting on Hazard’s time with the Blues, former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel revealed that his then-phenomenal teammate had once made a bold claim regarding Ronaldo and Messi.
According to Mikel, Hazard acknowledged that Messi hailed from another planet and was clearly a cut above the rest but was certain at the time that he was “maybe even better” than Ronaldo.
The Los Blancos’ striker’s comments to teammate John Obi Mikel regarding Messi and Ronaldo are particularly interesting.
“I’ve always said that one of the players who was the most gifted, had everything – pace, power, skill, technique – is Eden Hazard,” Mikel told The Athletic.
“He was just behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. But it was only if he wanted to be. He was that good. He said it himself sometimes, ‘If I want to be as good, I can be as good. Not as good as Messi because he is from a different planet, but I think I can get close to Ronaldo or maybe even better.’”
“These are the words that came out of his [Hazard’s] mouth, but he is not that dedicated to the game,” he added. “He doesn’t train well, he is the worst trainer I’ve played with.”
Bold though the claims may be, with an array of accolades to his name, Hazard arguably earned the right to make such claims then in his heydays.
Although injuries have hampered Hazard’s progress, many are still befuddled as to how the prolific goalscorer’s spectacular form suddenly took such a nosedive.
As per Hazard himself, soccer isn’t just about scoring goals. In fact, he considers himself as more of an “assisting guy” rather than a goalscorer.
“The feeling is the same when you see the ball in the net,” Hazard enthused last year.
“In my mind, I’m not just thinking about scoring goals, scoring goals, scoring goals. Some players now just think about scoring goals. And me? I’m more the kind of player who can create something. That’s why I like to say that I’m more of an assisting guy than a scoring machine.”
“I prefer to make assists, but I also like the feeling when you score a beautiful goal, a last-minute goal, and you win the game at the end,” he explained.
Credit: Football Tribe Malaysia
