One of Eden Hazard's former teammates has revealed what the Belgian used to say about trying to be as good as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Since his big-money move to Real Madrid in 2019, things have not gone according to plan for the Belgium international, whose natural ability is considered up there with the very best in world football.
A few years ago, during his time at Chelsea, Hazard was being compared with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo, but his former teammate John Obi Mikel believes that was only when he made an effort to do so.
In a recent interview, the Nigerian midfielder labelled Hazard as "the worst trainer" he has ever seen, and revealed that the winger believed he could be as good as, or even better than, Ronaldo.
"I've always said that one of the players who was the most gifted, had everything – pace, power, skill, technique – is Eden Hazard," he 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 doesn't train well, he is the worst trainer I've played with."
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While he scored 110 goals and assisted a further 92 strikes in 352 matches for Chelsea, Hazard has contributed to just 11 strikes in 36 matches for Real so far.
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