"He knows it" - Vincent Kompany makes Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi claim while praising former Chelsea star Eden Hazard
Burnley manager Vincent Kompany has compared former Chelsea star Eden Hazard to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Notably, both Kompany and Hazard played for the Belgium national team, but the former ended his playing career and entered into management in 2020.
Kompany shared a tribute to Hazard's retirement by revealing just how close the Lille legend was to both Messi and Ronaldo. The Burnley manager said (via Tribal Football):
"For me, at a certain point, and he knows it, he was a player who was just below Ronaldo and Messi in terms of level. He had a great career, also for Belgium. We didn't expect to have players at that level, but we had one of the magicians of the game."
At 32, Eden Hazard has hung up his boots, leaving fans and pundits to speculate on what could have been. The prodigious playmaker exited Real Madrid's stage this past summer, a full year ahead of his contract's expiration date, as he struggled to gain a foothold at the club.
Much of the problems he suffered with Los Blancos began with his inaugural season injury. It was a devastating blow sustained during a Champions League face-off with PSG back in the 2019/20 campaign. That moment led to an eventual point of no return for Hazard, who subsequently found himself in further injuries.
Yet, the final chapter of his career will not overshadow his impressive achievements with Lille, and with Chelsea, where he won nearly every competition. Hazard even steered Belgium to a laudable third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup.
Rivalry ends between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
While donning Portugal's colors during the international break last month, Cristiano Ronaldo dispelled any further rivalry with Lionel Messi.
The 38-year-old Portuguese legend declared (via NBC Sports):
"The rivalry is over. It was good, a healthy rivalry that spectators liked a lot. Whoever likes Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t have to hate Messi or vice-versa because they’re both very good. They changed the history of football, and they keep on doing it."
"The rivalry, I don’t see things like that. I’ve already said, we’ve shared the stage for 15 years and we ended up being, I wouldn’t say friends, because I never dined with him, but we are professional colleagues and we respect each other," Ronaldo added.
Although their legendary duel for football supremacy has concluded, both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continue to mesmerize on separate continents.
Now at Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, Ronaldo has kicked off the season with a staggering 12 goals and six assists in a mere dozen appearances across all competitions.
Lionel Messi's relocation to MLS club Inter Miami has been anything but subdued. The Argentine maestro has carved up defenses to the tune of 11 goals and five assists in 14 overall outings.