Eden Hazard: the best Chelsea player of all time?

Eden Hazard is no longer a professional footballer, but he has certainly left his mark on the sport. The Belgian flopped at Real Madrid, despite having achieved legendary status at Chelsea. Is Hazard the best player in the history of the Blues? All statistics and career facts are sourced from Transfermarkt.

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Hazard arrived at Chelsea with several trophies under his belt. He made his name at French side LOSC Lille, where he had spent several years in the youth academy and broke into the first team as a teenager.

Hazard led 'Les Dogues' to the French double in the 2010/11 season, scoring twelve goals and providing fourteen assists in all competitions. That same season and the following one, he was named Ligue 1 Player of the Year.

Many big teams were interested in Hazard. In the end, it was Chelsea who won the battle for his signature by paying €35 million to Lille in mid 2012, with the Belgian being one of then Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's big signings. "I'm delighted to finally arrive here. It's a wonderful club and I can't wait to get started," Hazard told the Chelsea website.

Hazard enjoyed an excellent start to his Chelsea career in 2012/13, with thirteen goals and 22 assists, and helped the Blues win the Europa League, although he missed the final against Benfica due to a hamstring injury. Stamford Bridge seemed to have found its new superstar.

His first campaign, however, was marred by a red card in the League Cup semi-final against Swansea City because Hazard 'kicked' a ball boy who dived on the ball to waste time. Hazard later apologised openly.

However, the incident did not stop the Belgian from continuing to excel in a Chelsea shirt. Hazard kept wreaking havoc on Premier League defences and, at times, played with his opponents, very often with a boyish grin on his face.

In 2014/15, Hazard lifted his first Premier League trophy, and was named Premier League Player of the Season. In total, he would win six trophies with the Blues, playing under great managers such Antonio Conte and the 'Special One', Jose Mourinho.

What set Hazard apart from other players was his technical ability, creativity and pace. He combined those skills with good finishing ability, which led him to score a total of 110 goals for the Blues in 352 appearances.

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Hazard never won a Ballon d'Or, but could compete with the very best in his years at Chelsea. Jose Mourinho even thought that he outperformed Cristiano Ronaldo in 2014/15, who won the 2014 Ballon d'Or. "Last season, yes [Hazard was better]. In spite of the fact that Ronaldo was fantastic," Mourinho told Sky Sports in July 2015.

This shows that, at the time, Hazard was considered one of the greats in world football, and according to research from WhoScore in 2018, he was "Europe’s best dribbler".

Chelsea legend Joe Cole played with many greats, but puts Hazard at the very top of his list. "The best, most complete player is Eden Hazard. In terms of everything," he revealed on Rio Ferdinand's YouTube channel when asked about his best team-mate ever in club football.

"He was so strong, I was never as strong as him, he was so strong, honestly you wouldn't believe it - and then he had the left foot, right foot: powerful. Great player," Cole added about Hazard, whom he played with at Lille.

Frank Lampard believes Hazard was his most skilful team-mate, ranking him above Paolo Di Canio and Gianfranco Zola. "He's at the top of the tree in terms of ability on the ball, awareness and skill," Lampard told Monday Night Football in 2017.

"Di Canio was probably the first I played with who had that ability; Gianfranco Zola was one of the best," Lampard added. "But I think where Hazard has the edge - Zola had a great career - [Hazard] has a real great speed, he can do things at top speed, and we've seen that."

With legends such as Joe Cole and Lampard praising Hazard for his qualities when he was at Chelsea, it begs the question: is Hazard the best Chelsea player ever?

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