da apostebet: Eden Hazard has added his voice to the long-running GOAT debate, with the Chelsea legend overlooking both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
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All-time greats have 13 Ballons d'Or between themConsidered to be the best to ever do itBelgian star admits to favouring French flairWHAT HAPPENED?
The ex-Real Madrid forward, who took on the iconic No.7 shirt at Santiago Bernabeu when making his way to Spain in 2019, is a big fan of the many qualities that Messi and Ronaldo possess. He is not about to start questioning their credentials or what they have done for the game in the modern era.
AdvertisementGetty/GOALWHAT HAZARD SAID
Hazard is, however, of the opinion that former France international Zinedine Zidane – another ‘Galactico’ from Real’s past – sits at the top of any all-time chart. He has told the when asked for his take on the GOAT discussion: “For me Messi is the one. Messi is the one if you talk about football. But then people they have different opinions on that, Ronaldo is the GOAT to score goals and to bring trophies to the team. This guy wow, look at him now he is 39 and will score goals until he is 50, believe me. Me, I am more my style of play is Messi, but for me the greatest is Zidane.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Hazard has played against Messi and Ronaldo in the past, allowing him to watch them at close quarters, and was taken to Madrid by 1998 World Cup winner Zidane during the Frenchman’s second spell in charge of Los Blancos.
Getty/GOALWHAT NEXT?
Hazard flopped at the Bernabeu, resulting in his release and subsequent retirement in 2023, but Messi and Ronaldo – who have 13 Ballons d’Or between them – are still going strong. They are now on the books of Inter Miami and Al-Nassr respectively, with more records being broken as they continue to chase down major honours.