Eden Hazard may surprise a Chelsea fan or two with his claim that Liverpool’s Mo Salah is a superior player to him.
The former Blues winger has often been compared to his Anfield counterpart (despite playing on opposite wings).
“So, we played Champions League the year before, and we were like, ‘Wow!'” the Belgian was quoted by SportBible.
“And then we bought him, like, yeah we have to, we have to buy this guy because the guy is so good.
“And then, you know, in football sometimes you have ups and downs, and then what he did with Liverpool is like, ‘wow!'”
Hazard went on to admit that his former teammate is the better player ‘by far’ of the pair.
The Egyptian King later signed for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in a £34.3m move following a mixed spell in London.
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Mo Salah’s Liverpool numbers dwarf Eden Hazard’s
It’s worth prefacing this conversation by first noting that Hazard was an absolutely phenomenal operator – particularly during his peak years at Stamford Bridge.
However, we never quite entirely understood how the former Real Madrid star was ever compared in the same breath as a bona fide Premier League great in Salah.
Whilst numbers alone don’t always provide the clearest picture of superiority, it’s hard to overlook the figures from their comparative Premier League spells.
Hazard registered an impressive 195 goal contributions in 352 games for Chelsea (all competitions). Not quite as impressive, of course, as our No.11’s 317 goal contributions in 357 games for Liverpool (all competitions).
Salah remains a remarkable creative and goalscoring threat despite losing the pace that defined his early years at L4. It’s likewise a testament to his conditioning that he looks capable of continuing at the top level for many more years to come.
Perhaps the debate between the two players might have been somewhat closer had Hazard faced less of a struggle with injuries.
What’s the latest on Mo Salah’s contract situation?
We’re reportedly set to enter into contract talks with our former Roma hitman in the coming weeks – along with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk.
It seems there’s yet to be any concrete movement on this front, with the clock ticking down to the trio’s contracts expiring in the summer.