Chelsea has been home to numerous world-class stars over the years. From Frank Lampard to Didier Drogba, several stars have graced the Stamford Bridge pitch.
But even by those standards, Eden Hazard was in a league of his own. While Hazard’s prime may not be as long as the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, he clearly has become a cult hero at Chelsea over the years.
To the point where the Belgian has become the benchmark for any new winger joining the Blues.
A lot of young players joining the club of late look up to Hazard and seek to emulate him during their time at the club.
For instance, Pedro Neto recently named Hazard as one of his all-time favourite players and sought to follow in his footsteps during his time in West London.
What’s more, Hazard is clearly aware of how good he was in his prime and has made a bold comparison between himself and a couple of footballing legends.
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Eden Hazard claims he was better than Gareth Bale and Franck Ribery in his prime
During a recent interaction with EA Sports, Hazard was asked to stay silent until he heard a better player than himself.
After not speaking when asked about the likes of Estevao Willian and Joe Cole, he also didn’t say anything when asked to compare himself to Gareth Bale and Franck Ribery.
Hazard only ended the challenge when he was asked to choose between himself and Thierry Henry, with him conceding defeat at that point.
The Belgian’s confidence in his own abilities is justified by the fact that he is Chelsea’s ninth all-time top scorer, a very impressive tally when realising that he never played in the striker position.
Chelsea will continue to try and find a player who lives up to those standards, and will hope that one of Palmer or Estevao can be their talisman for years to come.
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