The least we can say is that Eden Hazard showed himself to be very complete. After his contrasting stint at Real Madrid, the 33-year-old retiree granted a interview at France Football where he looks back on his career and his lifestyle, so often criticized in the Spanish capital. Often described as a “lazy” player, the Belgian confirmed that he was not inspired by the hard work of Cristiano Ronaldo.
“It wouldn’t have been me. After a meeting, go for an hour in the cold bath, no. Leave me alone, with my friends, we go home, we play cards, we drink a beer. I play for two hours with my sons in the garden. It was my recovery. If I had been like Cristiano, that’s the example, there are others, I would have burned out,” began the former Lille striker before joking by explaining that at Christmas, for him, it was “raclette, wine” or even “barbecue and rosé”: “Dietetics is rubbish, it’s useless. Well, it’s good if you want to play until you’re 40. I knew that wouldn’t be my case. A little Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, it’s in the fridge all the time. »
“Messi is the greatest in history”
Obviously very comfortable in this interview, Eden Hazard then talked about the players he loved watching. And if he quotes Ronaldinho or Hatem Ben Arfa, the Belgian also had a little word for the former darling of the Parc des Princes, Marco Verratti: “I was watching PSG for Verratti. No matter his lifestyle, his boxes, he couldn’t change. It’s a bit the same mold as me. He dribbles in his area, maybe he loses the ball and scores behind it. “Yeah Verratti…” He doesn’t care, he’s going to do it again. Hats off to the artist. You made me love it! » A statement which will certainly make the main interested party, who is currently playing in Qatar, smile.
And when he no longer talks about a healthy lifestyle, the former Belgian international (126 caps) talks about his passion for football. And he is quite sure of himself regarding his intrinsic qualities: “Individually, Messi is perhaps the only one [à être plus fort que lui]. I enjoyed seeing the one in Barcelona, less towards the end, but it’s the greatest in history. Unplayable, impossible to take the ball from him. Cristiano is a bigger player than me but, in terms of pure football, honestly, I don’t think so. Neymar, maybe. Afterwards, not stronger than me but, at Real, you have the best, also in relation to their career, Benzema, Modric, they were above, Kroos, Kev’ (De Bruyne), they breathe football . » Enough to make people react.
