Eden Hazard | "It's time to enjoy life drinking beers"

He was constantly eyeing a move to Madrid, wasn't he? Well...turned out nice.
 
Is his contract up end of the season or still got 12 months?

Pretty obvious he'll end up in MLS I think.
 
Ronaldo, Henry.. premier league greats

He was always a tier below in my eyes

Think we'd all agree with that. Belongs in the tier with the likes of D.Silva, Aguero, Bale etc. Would put Suarez slightly above them but not quite in the tier of Ronaldo/Henry.
 
Think we'd all agree with that. Belongs in the tier with the likes of D.Silva, Aguero, Bale etc. Would put Suarez slightly above them but not quite in the tier of Ronaldo/Henry.

If we're speaking of tiers, I'd put him in the same bracket as Ronaldo, Henry, Suarez and Salah but still behind them. Bale might belong there as well. But I think it's a bit harsh on Hazard to have him a whole tier below them. He used to be one hell of a player.
 
If we're speaking of tiers, I'd put him in the same bracket as Ronaldo, Henry, Suarez and Salah but still behind them. Bale might belong there as well. But I think it's a bit harsh on Hazard to have him a whole tier below them. He used to be one hell of a player.

That's fair if you have them ordered in the same tier. Theoretically if I had an S tier & A tier those players I mentioned above would be in A. Just considering attacking players I think S should be reserved for those who combined talent and ruthlessness at an elite level. Those in the tier below might have world class natural talent (Hazard, Silva) but lack the ruthlessness, or put up unbelievable numbers (Salah, Aguero) but are not as talented as those previously mentioned.

Hazard was my favourite player in his time here and I would say the best in the league of his era, but for me not in the same tier as Henry/CR7/Suarez.
 
It just frustrates the crap out of me that RM can get Hazard and Bale off their books and go for Mbappe and Haaland instead. It seems like their shit decisions don't really bite them that much.
 
And yet Neymar massively eclipsed hazard in goals and assists season after season. All whilst being a better dribbler, bigger leader and just mentally much stronger. Hazard was a good player but really fell into the pretty category rather than the elite one.

Two sets of figures prove nothing. Every time Neymar gets the ball he tries to provide the final action regardless of what stage an attack is at when he receives it - that doesn't make him a bigger leader or mentally stronger, and he's not a better dribbler.
 
:lol:

Him and Coutiniho costing 140m each, insane stuff. Griezmann costing £120m is pretty bad too.

When you think about it, nearly all of the most expensive transfers ever have not worked out, it’s like a curse

I was thinking about this too. Maybe it's time clubs stop paying ridiculous fees for players
 
It just frustrates the crap out of me that RM can get Hazard and Bale off their books and go for Mbappe and Haaland instead. It seems like their shit decisions don't really bite them that much.

I think it took them very long tonget Bale of their books. That's probably around €100m in salaries down the drain for him alone since he was generally fit bur stopped caring.

Also worth mentioning that the insurances pay for injured players not unmotivated ones
 
Well clearly in this case I was. Hazard was a special talent but his attitude was always lacking to make it to the elite category. Neymar might have his own issues but at his best he was a different level to hazard.

I never found his attitude to be a problem. No big ego, was consistent and reliable, hardly ever injured. No problems off the pitch, turned up in big matches. All of the trophies he won during his 7 seasons he played a huge part in all of them.

I don’t think there is much in it in terms of ability.
 
Funny how people let their dislike of Neymar get in the way of objective facts.
 
This is not as ridiculous a claim as you seem to think it is.

I think it is. Hazard beats him at everything. Its hard to think of 2 things David silva did better than Hazard.

Hazard scored more goals than him, created more chances, scored more vs the top 6, was a more decisive player, had better individual performances in international tournaments. Was faster and stronger, was a much much better dribbler, more take ons. Won more pens, won more MOTM awards than any player in the league in his 7 seasons. Makes a mockery of his inconsistent claims by the way. Hazard was having such an influence on games he was being man marked. Hazard at his best was the best player in the league. Where is Silva PFA award?.

He did it all of that in less attacking teams, under more defensive managers with less talented players than David Silva.
 
Not for me. Neymar has been selfish, greedy and irrational throughout his career, Hazard is very team-oriented and much more sensible. Hazard was slightly superior in my opinion, and I'm not a Chelsea fan.

I didn’t even know this was a thing people actually considered. Neymar is so clear of Hazard. I don’t know how anyone could watch Neymar play and call him selfish. All he does is create chances for his teammates. Guy has 186 games for Barcelona and he scored 105 goals and has 76 assists for them

Hazard has 352 games for Chelsea and he scored 110 goals and has 92 assists for them. Nearly double the outings and barely edging in productivity. Neymar was at Barca like 4 years and Hazard at Chelsea like 7 or 8.

it looks even worse if you look at it by competition. Neymar has 41 goals and 33 assists in the CL. Hazard has 9 goals and 13 assists.

There isn’t a single metric or football aspect that I can’t think of Hazard being better at than Neymar. It just seems so insane to me.
 
I think it is. Hazard beats him at everything. Its hard to think of 2 things David silva did better than Hazard.

Hazard scored more goals than him, created more chances, scored more vs the top 6, was a more decisive player, had better individual performances in international tournaments. Was faster and stronger, was a much much better dribbler, more take ons. Won more pens, won more MOTM awards than any player in the league in his 7 seasons. Makes a mockery of his inconsistent claims by the way. Hazard was having such an influence on games he was being man marked. Hazard at his best was the best player in the league. Where is Silva PFA award?.

He did it all of that in less attacking teams, under more defensive managers with less talented players than David Silva.
David Silva was better at knitting play together. He was a better and more creative passer and was no slouch as a dribbler (though Hazard was obviously better in this area). Most importantly, he was the kind of player that made all the players around him better. Stats are useful but, as is always the case, only tell part of the story. I think they're too different to day one or other is objectively 'better' but I don't think the clear daylight you're implying is between them exists.
 
Neymar is the better player but he's been a bit-part player for years now.
 
I think it is. Hazard beats him at everything. Its hard to think of 2 things David silva did better than Hazard.

Hazard scored more goals than him, created more chances, scored more vs the top 6, was a more decisive player, had better individual performances in international tournaments. Was faster and stronger, was a much much better dribbler, more take ons. Won more pens, won more MOTM awards than any player in the league in his 7 seasons. Makes a mockery of his inconsistent claims by the way. Hazard was having such an influence on games he was being man marked. Hazard at his best was the best player in the league. Where is Silva PFA award?.

He did it all of that in less attacking teams, under more defensive managers with less talented players than David Silva.
Hazard's numbers weren't that impressive though. He was never top tier PL player he was always a level beneath the best. Even when he won the POTY I think Sanchez had a better output than Hazard. So if the base for output isn't that important one might argue that Silva had higher importance to that City team.

But I have never seen a player as protected as Hazard by refs in any league, it was borderline crazy at times.
 
I reckon if Hazard had played in the French league I reckon he'd have won the league and also the player of the year award. I guess we'll never know.
Neymar was also the best player in la liga for a spell. It’s always been a nonsense comparison, Neymar has always been levels better.
 
I didn’t even know this was a thing people actually considered. Neymar is so clear of Hazard. I don’t know how anyone could watch Neymar play and call him selfish. All he does is create chances for his teammates. Guy has 186 games for Barcelona and he scored 105 goals and has 76 assists for them

Hazard has 352 games for Chelsea and he scored 110 goals and has 92 assists for them. Nearly double the outings and barely edging in productivity. Neymar was at Barca like 4 years and Hazard at Chelsea like 7 or 8.

it looks even worse if you look at it by competition. Neymar has 41 goals and 33 assists in the CL. Hazard has 9 goals and 13 assists.

There isn’t a single metric or football aspect that I can’t think of Hazard being better at than Neymar. It just seems so insane to me.
This is it. Honestly if people still think this now, it’s beyond normal reason.
 
If we're speaking of tiers, I'd put him in the same bracket as Ronaldo, Henry, Suarez and Salah but still behind them. Bale might belong there as well. But I think it's a bit harsh on Hazard to have him a whole tier below them. He used to be one hell of a player.
I would have Bale in there as well....his ability was off the charts!
 
Neymar was also the best player in la liga for a spell. It’s always been a nonsense comparison, Neymar has always been levels better.

No, he never won the "player of the season" award in La Liga. Perhaps you think he was the best player and that's fine but we're talking about fachts.

In all honesty I can't really compare the two, I've not seen nearly as much of Neymar as I have Hazard. He's obviously an incredible player but their respective clubs (for the majority of their careers) and their respective team mates are so wildly different in terms of quality that any comparison regarding stats is going to be virtually pointless. Neymar had Iniesta and Messi, Hazard had Willian and Pedro.
 
David Silva was better than Hazard.

Chelsea haven’t had a player like Silva in recent times. A smooth, classy operator. The fans don’t really know how to appreciate or understand him.

Zola might be the last one they saw and the majority hadn’t heard of Chelsea FC by then.
 
The idea that Hazard was inconsistent is so stunningly revisionist.
 
Silva’s second life under Pep makes it difficult, but I think I’d still only just give it to Hazard. Neymar was/is a league clear of both, though.
 
Easily one of the worst transfers in football history
It's certainly very near the top of that list, but nothing will ever, ever, be worse than a 150m transfer who, while on loan, scores a brace in the most humiliating UCL quarterfinal defeat ever.
 
Let's see if he can get back to playing good football once he leaves Madrid (like Coutinho is doing at Villa post Barça)

But I think Coutinho never had any injuries, it was a tactical problem... with Eden, it seems like his body has broken down.
 
The idea that Hazard was inconsistent is so stunningly revisionist.
Modern day obsession with stat padding over what players bring to the set up.

It's led some people to believe the likes of Lukaku are world class while players like Firmino are rubbish.