Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel labels current Real Madrid star the 'laziest footballer' he's ever seen

Former Chelsea player John Obi Mikel has labeled Real Madrid's Belgian forward Eden Hazard as the "laziest footballer" he has ever seen.

The duo were teammates at Stamford Bridge during a trophy-laden five-year period, lifting two Premier Leagues, an FA Cup, a League Cup and a Europa League title. Despite their fruitful partnership, they eventually parted ways when Mikel left for China in 2017.

Hazard, meanwhile, signed for Real Madrid in a big-money move in 2019.

John Obi Mikel: "Everybody wants to be in the starting 11 come the weekend and there is no place for you to be like 'I don't want to train today'. The only player I saw do that and get away with it was Eden Hazard. He never trained. The worst." https://t.co/Wsay39wWyi

Speaking to Dubai Eye (via Daily Mail), Mikel highlighted the Belgian's training regimen. The former Nigeria international claimed that Hazard, despite being a formidable performer on the pitch, used to skip training quite often.

"Everybody wants to be in the starting 11 come the weekend and there is no place for you to be like 'I don't want to train today'. The only player I saw do that and get away with it was Eden Hazard."

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"Eden Hazard is the laziest footballer I have ever seen in my life"

- John Mikel Obi https://t.co/jwVf9n25Wu

He continued:

"He never trained. The worst. The laziest footballer I have ever seen in my life. But then come the weekend he produces and was man of the match. He comes in then and was like 'come on guys you see'."

Hazard managed to avoid any repercussions due to his exceptional performances on matchdays, where his heroics would often turn the tides in favor of the Blues. However, things have not turned out well for the Belgian since he left Stamford Bridge for the Santiago Bernabeu.

'He likes his food' - Former Chelsea man John Obi Mikel discusses Real Madrid star Eden Hazard

Eden Hazard's fitness has become a point of discussion in the media in recent times, with his weight issues coming under scrutiny. However, according to his former teammate John Obi Mikel, the Belgian was even worse at Chelsea.

"I actually think when you look at him now he has lost a lot of weight. But when he was at Chelsea the night before a game after dinner, he sits there for like 20 minutes, half an hour, eating rice pudding."

"He likes his food. Then he goes to bed, wakes up on a Saturday morning and is there, he produces. We just let him do whatever he wants."

Unfortunately for the Real Madrid star, his fitness issues have only taken a turn for the worse. He recently sustained a serious knee injury during a training session, leaving him sidelined for the foreseeable future.

This was the 18th injury Hazard has suffered since joining Los Blancos. As a result, the Belgian superstar has had to sit out a staggering 76 games for Real Madrid, significantly hampering his prospects with the club.