Eden Hazard vs Neymar Jr.: The allure of statistics
Five years ago, Neymar and Hazard were among the top young talents in the world. These were players with exceptional dribbling ability and skill, and after 5 years they have turned this talent into greatness, cementing themselves as some of the best players in the world.
As in any sport, when there are two great players, comparisons are made. Despite the similarity in play and ability, most pundits and sports personalities tend to rate Neymar much higher than Hazard for reasons such as goal-scoring ability and individual accolades.
The presence of world-class teammates
Neymar has had the luxury of playing with some very great players such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappe and several other good players for short stints at either club. It is safe to say that he wasn't the best player at Barcelona and is not the outright best player for Paris Saint-Germain either.
When playing with such great players and in very composed teams and systems, the game is so much easier for the players and the quality of the team stands out. As a result of this, statistics are inflated. Neymar's team has scored a total of 526 goals from 2013 to 2018 in the league alone. Out of these goals, Neymar has scored 87 of them contributing to 6.05% of the total. Part of this is due to the level of opposition in the LaLiga and Ligue 1, and part of it being the quality of the teams he's played on.
Eden Hazard, on the other hand, has not played with such great players. He might have shared the pitch with Lampard, Drogba and Eto'o, but all of these players were old and past their prime. Furthermore, Hazard has been the main man for the team and Chelsea is heavily reliant on Hazard with the team's performance heavily correlated with Hazard's performance.
He's been the Man of the Match for Chelsea a staggering 43 times between 2013 and 2018 in the competitive Premier League. Despite this, his value is diminished due to his low goal-scoring ability. Hazard has scored 60 goals in the aforementioned period.
This is a significantly lower number than Neymar's, but here's the kicker: Hazard's goals contribute to 5.83% of Chelsea's 350 goals in the 5-year stretch, not much lower than Neymar's 6.05%. Yet, somehow the misconception is how the gap between the players is largely due to goals scored per season.
Management style
While in Barcelona, Neymar enjoyed the luxury of being a part of a system which involved possession-based, attacking minded football. This enabled him to get more touches on the ball and limited his defensive responsibility. This is an attacking player's dream. Moreover, his only responsibility was to play as a winger for the team.
Hazard, on the other hand, has played for two defensive-minded coaches in Mourinho and Conte, where they didn't necessarily maintain high possession of the ball and as such the forward players had to track back to ensure added protection to the full-backs. This is very energy consuming. He also had to play several different positions for the team including a false-9 position that limited his display of abilities.
Performances for the national teams
Hazard for the Belgium national team is exceptional and his full abilities are on display more frequently than not. This is because he has other quality players in the team who draw attention and isolate him into advantageous situations. The attacking brand of football makes him more dangerous.
This was especially evident in the World Cup when Hazard dazzled the world with his performances and brought home the Bronze medal. He was rewarded with the Silver Ball as well, given to the second best player in the tournament. Neymar in contrast, was very poor in the World Cup despite Brazil being early favourites to win the tournament.
All of this is not to say that Hazard is better or an equal to Neymar. It is to say that the quality of a player is not just tied to individual statistics and accolades. The impact to the team, the situation surrounding the club and the playing style all need to be taken into account.