Eden Hazard has weighed in on the debate deciding the best player between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and admitted his belief that he has more ‘pure football’ ability than one of the duo.
The former Chelsea and Real Madrid superstar has been speaking about his career in the sport since announcing his decision to retire at the age of 33 in October.
Hazard starred with 352 appearances for Chelsea and scored 110 goals for the Blues before securing a move to Real Madrid for an initial £88m that ultimately ended in disaster.
Hazard had offers to continue his career elsewhere after leaving Madrid but surprisingly decided to retire. Now he has weighed in on the age-old debate comparing Messi and Ronaldo’s achievements.
Eden Hazard has given his verdict on who the greatest-ever player is out of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Hazard weighed in on the debate when asked about whether Messi or Ronaldo were better players than him
His time spent at Madrid might have swung the pendulum in Ronaldo’s favour, given the Portuguese is a celebrated legend at the Santiago Bernabeu, however, Hazard named Messi as the only player better than himself.
‘Individually, Messi is perhaps the only one,’ he told L’Equipe.
‘I loved watching the Barcelona player, less so at the end, but he’s the greatest in history. It’s impossible to take the ball away from him.
‘Cristiano is a bigger player than me but, in terms of pure football, I honestly don’t think so. Neymar, maybe.
Hazard named Messi – who is now at Inter Miami – as the only player better than himself
Hazard believes he possesses more ‘pure football’ ability than Ronaldo but credited his achievements in the game
‘After that, he’s no better than me, but at Real, you’ve got the best, also in terms of their careers: (Karim) Benzema, (Luka) Modric, they were the best, (Toni) Kroos, Kev (De Bruyne), they all exude football.’
Ronaldo departed Madrid prior to Hazard’s arrival at the club in 2019, going on to play for Juventus, Manchester United and now starring in the Saudi Pro League.
The Portugal national team captain has been hailed for his longevity in the professional game and celebrated his 39th birthday on Monday.
However, Hazard admitted that Ronaldo’s super-healthy lifestyle would have ‘burned him out’ and revealed he would rather spend time with family and friends than following the same disciplined lifestyle.
