Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne has said that only three players are ‘more talented’ than former Chelsea ace Eden Hazard.
De Bruyne and Hazard were former teammates with the Belgium national team.
Hazard joined Chelsea from Lille in 2012 after spending four impressive seasons at the French Ligue 1 club.
He scored over 100 goals for Chelsea and won six major trophies, including two Premier League titles and two Europa League titles.
The Belgian completed a dream move to Real Madrid in 2019 but made only 76 appearances for the Champions League holders.
Hazard failed to impress at Madrid due to injury and a lack of fitness during his time at the Santiago Bernabéu.
He was eventually released by Madrid and subsequently retired from the sport.
Speaking about his compatriot, De Bruyne believes that, at his peak, Hazard was only behind Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Neymar in terms of talent.
“For me, it has to be Eden,” De Bruyne told Sky Sports when asked who he sees as the most iconic Belgian to play in the Premier League.
“He is so, so good. I think, talent-wise, he’s probably top five in the world behind Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar. Eden on his day was so, so good.
“His quality in one-v-one situations, his dribbling—he never seemed to care, he was just playing football.
“I played with him since we were both 16, and he’s a really nice guy too. Unfortunately, he had the injuries when he came to Madrid, and he retired.
“I spoke to him the other day before the Chelsea game—his son was coming to the game. He’s enjoying his life, and I’m happy he’s happy. He was such a talented player.”
