Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos and more: Chelsea icon Eden Hazard builds his perfect player
Former Chelsea player Eden Hazard has picked which attributes of footballers past and present would make up his perfect player. The Belgian international engaged in a discussion where he was asked to identify the best player for various footballing skills.
Hazard, who called time on his professional career in October 2023, was a force to be reckoned with during his playing days, particularly at Chelsea. Following an illustrious career at the west London club, Real Madrid acquired his services in 2019, but the Belgian maestro couldn’t replicate his heroics at Los Blancos. He struggled with injuries and poor form, leading to his early retirement.
In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter) by 90min, Hazard was asked to build his ideal player using six specific attributes: passing, defending, pace, physical, shooting, and dribbling.
Hazard confidently selected Toni Kroos for passing, Sergio Ramos for defending, and Vincent Kompany for pace, responding without hesitation. However, he took a moment to consider his choices for physicality, shooting, and dribbling.
When asked about physicality, Eden Hazard paused thoughtfully before naming former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. He also contemplated the player he thought had the most powerful shot before mentioning Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde. He praised the Uruguayan's remarkable striking ability both in training and matches, despite being less recognized as a shooter due to his position.
For dribbling, he struggled with naming himself as he also had Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. in mind, but he eventually opted for his own skills.
"Interviewer: Passing?"
"Hazard: Toni Kroos."
"Interviewer: Defending?"
"Hazard: Sergio Ramos."
"Interviewer: Pace?"
"Hazard: Kompany."
"Interviewer: Physical?"
"Hazard: Didier Drogba."
"Interviewer: Shooting?"
"Hazard: Shooting is hard. You know, I’m going to go with Federico Valverde. Shooting, this guy is crazy. In training and matches, but he is a midfielder, so people don’t see him like you know.’’
"Interviewer: Dribbling?"
"Hazard: Can I go with myself? It has to be between me, Messi, or Neymar. Well, I’m going with me, of course."
Eden Hazard says Mohamed Salah was good before he joined Chelsea
Eden Hazard said that Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah was already a top player before Chelsea bought him from Swiss club Basel. Hazard recalled Chelsea’s Champions League clashes with Basel in the group stages of the 2013-14 Champions League.
While the Blues secured their spot for the next round as group toppers, Mohamed Salah was a thorn in the Blues' defense as he scored home and away, with Basel securing a 1-2 victory at Stamford Bridge and a 1-0 win at St. Jakob-Park. Salah’s performance in both games caught Chelsea’s interest, and they signed him in the transfer window that followed in 2014.
During an interview with SPORTbible, Eden Hazard was asked if he knew Salah was going to be so good at Chelsea. Responding, he said:
''He was good already. But that good. You know, we played. When he was playing in Basel, so, we played Champions League the year before, and we were like, ‘Wow! And then we bought him, like, yeah we have to, we have to buy this guy because the guy is so good."
"And then, you know, in football sometimes you have ups and downs, and then what he did with Liverpool is like, ‘wow!'”
In the same video, Eden Hazard admitted that Mohamed Salah is the better player ‘by far’ between himself and the Egyptian.