The signing of Eden Hazard from Chelsea may have excited Real Madrid supporters, but some of his past comments about Barcelona’s Lionel Messi might make him slightly harder to warm to.
The rivalry between Madrid and Barcelona is one of the biggest and most intense in football, and as a result Los Blancos supporters are known to dislike the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
But Hazard has often called Messi the best player in the world in the past, and has even gone as far as to say he models his game on the Argentinean star.
Before one Belgian press conference Hazard said: “I can’t be compared to (Lionel) Messi. Yes, there are some similarities, we’re both small and fast, but he scores important goals in every game. I can’t be compared to the incomparable.”
Hazard also praised Barcelona’s talisman in a live stream for Chelsea TV, saying: “When you are playing football you want to play against the best players in the world and the best teams in the world. Messi is the best player in the world.”
All will no doubt be forgiven, however, if Hazard can reproduce the stunning form he showed on a regular basis at Chelsea in the white shirt of Real Madrid.