Chelsea legend Eden Hazard picks the ‘better’ player between him and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah to end heated debate
Chelsea icon Eden Hazard picked the 'better' player between himself and Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah. In a recent video uploaded by SPORTbible, the Belgian chose the Egyptian talisman, concluding a heated debate within the Premier League fandom.
Hazard joined Chelsea from French outfit LOSC Lille for a reported €35 million in the summer of 2012. He spent seven successful seasons at Stamford Bridge, bagging 110 goals and 85 assists in 352 appearances across all competitions.
During his spell in the Premier League, he was widely regarded as one of the best forwards in the league, if not the footballing world. However, his legacy in English football would soon find a worthy challenger in the form of Salah.
Salah joined Liverpool from Italian side AS Roma for a reported €42 million in July 2017. He has helped the Reds win loads of trophies with his impeccable attacking displays, having racked up 216 goals and 93 assists in 357 games across all competitions.
Entering his eighth season with Liverpool, doubts have been cast over his future at the club with lucrative offers from the Saudi Pro League on the table. Despite the rumors, the Reds forward has continued to deliver on the pitch, with five goals and four assists in eight appearances in the 2024-25 season so far.
Pitting up two legends from the top echelons of English football against each other would always lead to a heated debate, as it did with Salah and Hazard. However, the 33-year-old ended the discussion in the video seen below (via @AnfieldEdition on X).
Although he is only one year older than Salah, Hazard retired from professional football in 2023 after a long struggle with injuries during his stint at Real Madrid.
Eden Hazard and Liverpool maestro Mohamed Salah were teammates at Chelsea and are good friends off the pitch
Superstar forwards Eden Hazard and Mohamed Salah were once teammates at Chelsea before the latter was sent out on a slew of loan spells.
The Blues signed Salah for a reported £11 million fee from Basel in January 2014. He made 19 appearances for Chelsea in the next six months, with nine of them coming alongside Hazard.
The Egyptian was then sent out on loan to Fiorentina for the 2014-15 campaign and to Roma in the 2015-16 campaign, with the latter buying him permanently. After a stellar 2016-17 campaign with the Giallorossi, he was brought back to the Premier League by Liverpool.
Since then, he has broken a mountain of records, establishing a legacy rivaling that of Hazard at Chelsea. While they constantly vied to be the best player in the EPL for two seasons (2017-19), Hazard and Salah are known to share a great friendship off the pitch.
In an interview with NBC in March 2019, Hazard was quoted saying (via Tribuna):
"In the Premier League, Mo Salah is one of my good friends and he’s been doing something incredible for two years. I tried to look at this player and I try to reach that level."
Salah reciprocated the friendship and respect in a March 2021 interview with Marca when Hazard was at Real Madrid. The Egyptian said (via Rousing The Kop):
"Hazard. I have a great relationship with him, he did very well at Chelsea, but he's not getting any luck at the moment [due to his constant injury problems]."
Next up, Salah will likely be in action in Liverpool's upcoming Champions League fixture against Bologna on October 2.