Eden Hazard Weighs in on Messi vs Ronaldo Debate, Claims Technical Superiority

Eden Hazard, the recently retired football star, has stirred up the perennial Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate by expressing his views on the two footballing legends. Hazard, once considered the third-best player in the world after Messi and Ronaldo, made a bold statement by asserting his technical superiority over Ronaldo during an interview with L’Equipe.

Hazard, who played for Chelsea before joining Real Madrid in 2019, had a challenging stint at the Bernabeu, managing seven goals in 76 appearances over four injury-plagued seasons. Despite his struggles, Hazard believes he was technically a better player than Ronaldo, who scored a remarkable 450 goals in 438 games for Real Madrid.

In the interview, Hazard shared his perspective on the Messi vs Ronaldo debate, stating, “Individually, Messi is perhaps the only one.” He praised Messi as the greatest in history, acknowledging the Argentine’s incredible ball control. However, Hazard controversially claimed, “Cristiano is a bigger player than me but, in terms of pure football, I honestly don’t think so.”

Hazard went on to suggest that Neymar might be on par with him in terms of pure football. He also mentioned other Real Madrid players like Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, and Toni Kroos as the best in terms of their careers.

“Neymar, maybe. 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, Kevin [De Bruyne], they all exude football.”

Despite both Messi and Ronaldo continuing their professional careers, Hazard announced his retirement at the age of 32 in October. Addressing comparisons to Ronaldo’s rigorous fitness regime, Hazard dismissed the idea, stating that such an approach wouldn’t have suited him, and he preferred his own recovery methods.

“After training, soaking in the cold bath for an hour, no. Leave me alone, with my friends, we go home, play cards, have a beer.

“I play for two hours with my friends. Children in the garden. It was my recovery. If I had been like Cristiano, I would have been burned out.”

Hazard’s remarks are likely to ignite further debates among football fans, adding another chapter to the long-standing discussion over who truly stands as the greatest between Messi and Ronaldo.