“They have different opinions on that though” - Eden Hazard snubs Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi while naming his GOAT
Former Chelsea star Eden Hazard recently snubbed the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to name Zinedine Zidane as his greatest of all-time player (GOAT).
During a recent interview with former Nigerian midfielder John Obi Mikel, the ex-Chelsea player was asked to pick his GOAT of football. The former Belgian attacker started by praising the abilities of Messi and Ronaldo.
He initially took the name of Messi but also praised Ronaldo for his goalscoring ability. He said (via Obi One Podcast):
"For me Messi is the one. Messi is the one if you talk about football. But then people they have different opinions on that though, Ronaldo is the goat to score goals and to bring trophies to the team. This guy wow, look at him now he is 39 and will score goals until he is 50, believe me."
Nevertheless, Hazard eventually took the name of former French midfielder Zinedine Zidane as his pick for the GOAT debate. He added:
“Me, I am more my style of play is Messi, but for me the greatest is Zidane."
Hazard joined Real Madrid from Chelsea in July 2019. He was expected to excel as Cristiano Ronaldo's replacement at Santiago Bernabeu. However, he failed to perform as per the expectations because he suffered numerous injuries during his tenure. In the summer of 2023, Hazard decided to retire from the sport.
During his four-year-long spell with Los Blancos, the former Belgian midfielder only made 76 appearances, bagging seven goals and 12 assists.
Wayne Rooney draws a comparison between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
Former Manchester United attacker Wayne Rooney recently claimed his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo was focused on just goals while he also pointed out similarities between him and Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo and Rooney were teammates at Old Trafford between 2004 to 2009. During the five years, they won three Premier League and a UEFA Champions League title together. However, the Englishman recently claimed that his former teammate only cared about scoring goals.
Rooney also stated that his playing style was similar to Lionel Messi's because he wanted to enjoy football. He said (via FourFourTwo):
"Cristiano Ronaldo's mentality is goals. He doesn't care about anything else, just goals. That's all he wants. Messi, for example, wants to play a little more. Presumably this is what Hazard means - he likes to play football just like me.”
He added:
“I wanted to play football and I could have been more selfish and stayed ahead and maybe scored more goals but I wanted to enjoy football.”
Rooney joined Manchester United in August 2004 from Everton. After spending more than a decade at Old Trafford, he joined his boyhood club, Everton again in 2017. During his time at Old Trafford, Rooney made 559 appearances for the Red Devils, bagging 253 goals and 145 assists.