Eden Hazard: I won't be a goalscorer like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo

He's a brilliant player and I think many on here hope, rather than actually believe, that he isn't going to develop even further. The overrated issue is one that pops up with every player. Yes, if it's a context of him being stupidly compared to Ronaldo like Mourinho done last season, then he's overrated. He more belongs in a category with the likes of Ribery at this point (as people have alluded to).

Don't get me wrong, for all the hype at Lille, he has somewhat disappointed at times but he was pretty immense last season. Messi and Ronaldo have set ridiculous benchmarks that pretty much every 'normal' player won't be able to compete with, ever. It's not the norm, they are both freaks in terms of ability and goals scoring.

Hazard has started the season pretty poor and I'll be delighted if it continues but unfortunately I think he will come good. As for the article, people are interpreting it based on their personal views on Hazard.
 
Still has much to prove in comparison to Ribery let alone merit comparison to Robben or Messi/ Ronaldo.
Whereas Neymar is more likely to compete at that super elite level.
 
Still has much to prove in comparison to Ribery let alone merit comparison to Robben or Messi/ Ronaldo.
Whereas Neymar is more likely to compete at that super elite level.

Neymar looks the only one that will compete at this point. There was a time last season when plenty on here claimed that Hazard was better than Neymar. I don't buy that for one minute.
 
I don't understand. People want him to come out and say ; ' I will score 50-70 goals in a calendar year?' So they can bash him for being unrealistic and overly ambitious?

'I won't be a goal scorer like Ronaldo and Messi' doesn't necessarily mean he is saying he won't try to become the best player he can be. People ( well mostly United fans) widely consider United's Ronaldo a better all round player than Madrid's Ronaldo - who is just a goal machine or not as great an all round player, despite scoring a hell of a lot less goals.
 
Tbf hardly anyone will reach Messi/Ronaldo standard of goals per season, think he's just being realistic. And the fact that he's never been a true goalscorer, more like Ribery, so it's understandable I guess.
 
Perhaps a more realistic target would be breaking Juan Mata's record for Chelsea of 20 goals and 28 assists in one season.
 
Tbh his comments make perfect sense to me. Some players love to score goals and some find pleasure and contribution for their team in other ways. Moreover he knows he'll never get those goalscoring stats so this is why he doesn't set himself for disappointment. Maybe not the attitude of an absolute winner but understandable all the same.
 
Tbh his comments make perfect sense to me. Some players love to score goals and some find pleasure and contribution for their team in other ways. Moreover he knows he'll never get those goalscoring stats so this is why he doesn't set himself for disappointment. Maybe not the attitude of an absolute winner but understandable all the same.

That's the point though, he is thought of as having a potential to become of the top 3 in the world, everything he has said up to now seemed to mirror how, how he handled his impending transfer with star status, making people wait etc..

Unfortunately, I think he had a more "killer mentality" when he was younger, he seems to have accepted his limitations, which could even make him a better player now as he wouldn't try as many audacious things, but he will also loose some potential either way.
 
That's the point though, he is thought of as having a potential to become of the top 3 in the world, everything he has said up to now seemed to mirror how, how he handled his impending transfer with star status, making people wait etc..

Unfortunately, I think he had a more "killer mentality" when he was younger, he seems to have accepted his limitations, which could even make him a better player now as he wouldn't try as many audacious things, but he will also loose some potential either way.

People always get carried away with young players, they seem certain similarities with a previous great and automatically comparisons arise. I think his comments show his maturity and his acceptance of his limits as a football player. Sometimes a player can delude himself into thinking he can do things he really can't in reality.
 
He's a brilliant player and I think many on here hope, rather than actually believe, that he isn't going to develop even further. The overrated issue is one that pops up with every player. Yes, if it's a context of him being stupidly compared to Ronaldo like Mourinho done last season, then he's overrated. He more belongs in a category with the likes of Ribery at this point (as people have alluded to).

Don't get me wrong, for all the hype at Lille, he has somewhat disappointed at times but he was pretty immense last season. Messi and Ronaldo have set ridiculous benchmarks that pretty much every 'normal' player won't be able to compete with, ever. It's not the norm, they are both freaks in terms of ability and goals scoring.

Hazard has started the season pretty poor and I'll be delighted if it continues but unfortunately I think he will come good. As for the article, people are interpreting it based on their personal views on Hazard.

The overrated argument comes up because you have people calling him immense in a season where he failed to either score or assist in just under half of the games he played - 24 out of 49. He's not a good enough playmaker to make the difference outside of that to justify any claims of him being immense, IMO. He's just immensely overhyped because he's the PL's best chance at having the next big thing.
 
That's what make Messi and Ronaldo extra-terrestrial. They are cold blooded killers in their mentalities. We should be glad they honed that into football and not anything else.
 
Realism. He's a wonderful player but isnt at their level. Ronaldo and Messi are absolute freaks to be fair. Wingers that turned out the be the most prolific goalscorers in history. Theyre outliers IMO. Its not realistic to expect every good player to be like that.
 
I agree with Amol. He makes it out it's just a mentality thing, as if he believes he has the ability to score 50 goals a season but not the mindset to do it. It's bollocks, he doesn't have the ability to score on that level. Hardly anyone does.
 
The overrated argument comes up because you have people calling him immense in a season where he failed to either score or assist in just under half of the games he played - 24 out of 49. He's not a good enough playmaker to make the difference outside of that to justify any claims of him being immense, IMO. He's just immensely overhyped because he's the PL's best chance at having the next big thing.

Semantics, I can downgrade 'immense' to 'very good season'. Even in games that he didn't score / assist, he was usually Chelsea's best attacking outlet - especially after Costa and Fabregas went to shit. I would say the world overrated would be specifically used for players like Costa. I just don't 'get' Costa.

I agree he's probably 'overrated' as people love a-bit of hysteria. On here last season people went extremely OTT about him. Imagine he was our player Brwned; you can only imagine the way people would speak about him. He needs to stop being compared to Messi and Ronaldo as he's nowhere near that level. Given that Mourinho has managed both (Ronaldo / Hazard), I'm astounded that he could even compare the two. I guess it's just a case of a manager bigging up his own player.

Still though, he's a fantastic player who has started the season quite poor. Long may it continue as far as I'm concerned.

How do you rate Hazard? I've said before on here that he hasn't lived up to the hype that was generated while he was at Lille and the furore that surround his transfer.
 
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It's harder in England because the top teams don't always get the lions share of the ball and it's so fast paced that everything has to be split second. Ronaldos best here was 41-42 and I think Messi would probably get similar. Hazard, is a good player but he doesn't have the selfish streak or the fire about him to make the most out of every opportunity. Nothing wrong with that
 
Based on fecking what? :lol:

I hope you are being fair to Ribery and not taking the Ribery of now who's injured all the time.

Hazard is so much better it's barely a comparison. When Ribery was in France the most goals he got in a season was 6 and that was at age 23, Hazard was scoring 20 when he was 20. In his three seasons in the PL he's managed more goals than Ribery has scored if you took the best numbers from any of his 8 seasons for comparison as well as winning Player of the year. The current EPL is much much harder than the BundesLOLA.

Ribery was better at his peak IMO.

Ribery was a good player in a great team, that's it. Hazard hasn't hit his peak either and he's already operating at a better level, he just isn't surrounded by 2012 Bayern Munich.
 
The overrated argument comes up because you have people calling him immense in a season where he failed to either score or assist in just under half of the games he played - 24 out of 49. He's not a good enough playmaker to make the difference outside of that to justify any claims of him being immense, IMO. He's just immensely overhyped because he's the PL's best chance at having the next big thing.
I think the Premier League has a very big thing called Sergio Agüero. He's as good as any striker in the world, excluding the obvious two.
 
A lot of the points I wanted to make have already been made so I'll go off on bit of a tangent here.

Although any attacking player should always try to improve their own effectiveness (in goals and assists/key passes), I 'like' what he says about not being the type to be that ruthless goal scorer.

Messi aside, I struggle to think of the instances where Ronaldo's solo achievements and singular determination has been actually has been for the better of him team. Ok that's a blanket statement because he has (more than) often won games and assisted big time but can you say he's tried his best and done his best for the good of the team? You can argue, well his team mates should raise their levels and fight him/with him for that singular drive to win but it's not quite the same. Ronaldo's passion is self glory that happens to benefit the team and not the other way around.

As is the same with Bale to an extent (which annoys me as a neutral), Ronaldo has lost more and more of his devastating wide game (drifting into positions, driving down the line, running from deep, linking play) and in effect he's become less of an effective player in creating chances, which is of course a detriment to his team/mates.

I think Hazard subconsciously recognises this.

Messi's records and singular achievements are different because it's absolutely benefited his team and it only took generational talents like Henry, Villa, Pedro, Eto'o, Sanchez playing their part (out-wide) to help him achieve that, not to mention having Iniesta and Xavi.

:confused:
 
So essentially, he's more interested in making the team tick and being involved in the play than necessarily being the man with all the goals?

Aye..what an unambitious asshole. :rolleyes:

Caf pseudo-psychologists are out in force.
 
June 2013

'Every year, I am improving and getting better and better, but I want to be even more effective,’ he said, ahead of Belgium’s game with Serbia. ‘My dream is 50 or even 60 goals like Messi and Ronaldo. They have shown it is possible, so maybe I can do the same.

‘I had a lot of assists last season and a few goals, but the problem is that I tend to choose the beautiful option too often and dribble with the ball, when a different way might cause more damage

‘Sometimes I lack the killer instinct, but I mean to change that. I need to shoot more, rather than look to do something that looks nice, and that is what I will be trying to do next season.'



Jul 2015


"If I want to reach this level I have to score 40, 50 goals just for one season. Last season I scored 17. Maybe it’s good but maybe it’s not enough.

“How can I get better? My aim is to score more goals, to create more chances and to win more trophies.”

“That’s a bit of pressure for me! But I just want to play and give pleasure on the pitch.”


Now


"I ask myself what I can do to become like Messi and Ronaldo, and score 50 or 60 goals in a season, I try but I realise that I will never be a true scorer. It is not in me. It is mainly mental. Sometimes I still think after a goal, 'that's enough. I'm not in search of records like some other players. If I can score between 15 and 20 goals each season, I will be very happy. I'm at a peak of my career but I want to become even better every day. I'm not there yet."


Erm... Ok mate...
 
As I thought. He's realised he can't do it after being told he's the next player of that level.
 
Ribery was a good player in a great team, that's it. Hazard hasn't hit his peak either and he's already operating at a better level, he just isn't surrounded by 2012 Bayern Munich.
Hazard is just a good player in a good team, that's it. Except Ribery at his best was a little better.

Being in a worse team doesn't make you a better footballer.
 
He's a coward. Clearly not willing to put in the extra effort it takes to push his game to the next level. It would mean ultimate dedication and he's already shying away, despite those around him telling him he can be just as good.

Does he think Ronaldo and Messi were just born like this? everyone has a talent, it's what you do with it that matters.
 
As I thought. He's realised he can't do it after being told he's the next player of that level.
:lol: Not at all what he says but okay.

So essentially, he's more interested in making the team tick and being involved in the play than necessarily being the man with all the goals?

Aye..what an unambitious asshole. :rolleyes:

Caf pseudo-psychologists are out in force.
This. It's actually refreshing to have a player come out and talk sense and reality for a change instead of all the pre-programmed interviews with people that actually say feck all.
 
So he dreams of scoring 50 or 60 goals a season and then while trying realises that this life is not a satisfying one anymore?
There doesn't need to be a correlation between what one dreams and what one is satisfied with.
 
There doesn't need to be a correlation between what one dreams and what one is satisfied with.
So you're saying he's not that driven. feck knows really. We're all just guessing. I personally don't think he's capable. The level were talking about is absurdly high.
 
Lot of insane reaching in this thread.

Enough can be inferred from his erratic form as a playmaker on the pitch. No need to squeeze water out of a stone here.
 
So you're saying he's not that driven. feck knows really. We're all just guessing. I personally don't think he's capable. The level were talking about is absurdly high.
Of course he isn't capable of scoring 50+ goals a season, no one is bar Messi and Ronaldo and it'll probably be a long time before we see someone else doing it. Hazard will have dreamt about those figures when he first arrived at Chelsea, but it's good he already realizes he won't be as good as them at age 24. If you can set realistic goals, you'll be happier in the long run instead of still chasing those 50 goals a season. Moreover, it's silly to judge a player solely on his goals and assists ratio. Hazard does so much more for Chelsea, and he was immense for them last year.
 
Of course he isn't capable of scoring 50+ goals a season, no one is bar Messi and Ronaldo and it'll probably be a long time before we see someone else doing it. Hazard will have dreamt about those figures when he first arrived at Chelsea, but it's good he already realizes he won't be as good as them at age 24. If you can set realistic goals, you'll be happier in the long run instead of still chasing those 50 goals a season. Moreover, it's silly to judge a player solely on his goals and assists ratio. Hazard does so much more for Chelsea, and he was immense for them last year.
So we basically agree. Can't find fault with any of that. Like @Brwned I do find him, and his season last year, a bit overrated, as he is an example of the premier league drumming up one of their own, but on everything else were on the same page.
 
I wonder if the instigators of this "Premier League drumming up campaign" will one day be revealed. They're probably in a dark basement now conniving on how to hype up Welbeck as the next Henry.
 
Well he's more of an assisting player like Ribery/Iniesta and not a goalscorer like Ronaldo/Messi (even though Messi can do both). Nothing wrong about his statement, he's just beeing realistic.

That doesn't mean that those kind of players are any worse than the goalscorers though, they just get less spotlight because goalscoring is more exciting. But to be honest, for most teams i think the assisting kind of players are more important than the scoring ones. Because the greatest assisting players can make everyone score, while the scorers can't score without good services.
 
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With some of the arguments here you think they would also say that Lampard was better than Xavi an that Gerrard is better than Iniesta. You can be a great player without being a great scorer.
 
I'm sure he could train and work just as hard as Ronaldo and Messi but I still don't think he'd score anywhere near as many as them two.

Ronaldo and Messi are just freaks. Scoring 50 goals a season every year for fecking 6 or 7 years?

It's mental.
 
Hazard is so much better it's barely a comparison. When Ribery was in France the most goals he got in a season was 6 and that was at age 23, Hazard was scoring 20 when he was 20. In his three seasons in the PL he's managed more goals than Ribery has scored if you took the best numbers from any of his 8 seasons for comparison as well as winning Player of the year. The current EPL is much much harder than the BundesLOLA.



Ribery was a good player in a great team, that's it. Hazard hasn't hit his peak either and he's already operating at a better level, he just isn't surrounded by 2012 Bayern Munich.

Ok.
 
Hazard is just a good player in a good team, that's it. Except Ribery at his best was a little better.

Being in a worse team doesn't make you a better footballer.

Hazard is a great player in a decent team, Chelsea are no treble winners like Bayern. By the time Hazard is 32 and you can compare their respective career's it won't even be a close decision.