L'Equipe had an interview with Eden Hazard, who talked about his injuries, retirement and career. Here is the full interview.
On Messi and Ronaldo
"Lionel Messi is perhaps the only player who is better than me. I loved watching him when he was at Barcelona. I didn't like watching him much afterwards, but he is the best in history. It is impossible to take the ball away from him. Cristiano Ronaldo is a bigger player than me, but in terms of pure football, I don't think he's better than me. Neymar, maybe."
On Overweight
"With Chelsea I had just finished one of the best seasons of my career. I said to myself: 'Now that I'm at Real Madrid, this is perhaps the last vacation I'll be able to enjoy'. And I let myself go like I let myself go every summer. Seven years in England, without a break at Christmas, giving everything, so that when I have three or four weeks of vacation "don't bother me": barbecues, rosé wine... all that. Then in Madrid things went wrong and that's it."
"I wasn't watching what I ate but I didn't go for a burger every day either. You can't do that for 16 years. I didn't think it was important. I'm a hedonist, I like to eat and drink with my friends. Dieting is bullshit, it doesn't work.
If you want to play until you're 40, then ok, but I knew I wouldn't be like that. I always have some champagne in my fridge."
“They say I was a lazy person. But I didn’t go 16 years without training. The little games, the little runs, I was there.
It’s true that some mornings I arrived without sleeping well, without desire, & when it’s like that, I show it. ‘Don’t give me the ball, I won’t move within a square meter’.”
Was Real Madrid the right club for you?
Eden Hazard: "I've been a Zidane fan since I was a child. The Bernabéu, the white kit... it has a charm that others don't have. Madrid is special. Beyond that, I don't think I fit in. It's not like me. It's a bit of a 'swaggering' club & I'm not like that. I also didn’t like the way we played if you compare it to other clubs. But it was my dream. I couldn't finish my career without coming here.”
On Madrid Exit
"Madrid exit? It makes me sad that it ended like this. The perfect story would have been hat-trick and ciao. In Lille it ended well, in Chelsea even better. I knew it was all over in Madrid and I didn't even want to go in.
Maybe people were already going to whistle at me. "Ouh, ouh". You know what? Leave me on the bench, I'll enjoy it.”
Would have you liked to have Cristiano’s mentality?
"No. It wouldn't have been me. After training, soaking in the cold bath for an hour, no. Leave me alone, with my friends, we go home, play cards, have a beer. I play for two hours with my friends. Children in the garden. It was my recovery. If I had been like Cristiano, I would have been burned out.”
On the injuries
"The injury vs PSG? I would have liked to do things my way & succeed. This shows that Madrid is bigger than anything else. It's difficult to play there.
Maybe I needed to train more. I also had the worst injuries in the worst moments. The operation, the plate... I'm coming back, it hurts, I'm sore. In the second season, Ancelotti arrives. I had good preparation, I play well, but my body, the pain, the injuries.”
"One morning, when I woke up, I had a lump like this (points to a small cup) on my ankle. Infection. I'm going to have to do surgery again. I had two more years left on contract and I said to myself: 'go ahead, try'
But I lost my place, my confidence and then my desire. I went from being hard in front of guys who were kicking my knee off, to getting up with pain from the bed... I would have liked to understand why and I couldn't.”
Did you suffer?
"No. I'm lucky to have been in this industry and to have earned a lot of money. People fight every day, I have no right to complain, not even when I'm not playing, not even being injured saying that life sucks. Impossible.
It hurts, but on the other hand... In the end [of my career] I used it as an excuse: 'It hurts, I really can't do it'. I wasn't depressed, but I didn't feel like it anymore. It simply had neither the energy nor the strength (...) It didn't make any sense, it was over."
Rhema10
1145
If he were to train like Ronaldo7, he wouldn't have burnt out as he claimed he would have been very good and fit to continue but see the consequences of leaving. I don't care life. Pure complacency
ManUtdAmadDialo
739
And that's nothing but the truth..! Cristiano Ronaldo is a bigger player than Hazard ofcos, but in terms of pure football Hazard is way better than Ronaldo
waaabklu
553
Shame… no respect for the 🐐
masbcikln
501
someone should remind him that Alexis Sanchez is still playing football
Billypharacy
485
Man just spoke the truth and all this backlash follows. He said in terms of pure football
mokabdlost
480
What is pure football??🤣🤣 Prime hazard won’t even be able to lace that young Ronaldo’s boots 🤣🤣
Nino_Luxury
448
Bro is not even in our top 5 Best Players at Chelsea, he's out there challenging a player who is like a God in the world of football. I bet Burger has weakened his sense of reasoning😑😭
Bibektumbapo
445
toxic Ronaldo fans blasting and crying everywhere 🤣🤣🤣
tazaeikltu
387
Hazard he's just a fool who's Hazard what has he achieved in life to compare with the greatest of all time CR7 in teams of football ⚽
malablata
345
Yeah, Eden is right, I mean Messi is better than him in laziness. His laziness made him a bench warmer at Madrid. Chelsea is an average team so anyone can play there and become superstar. Our aging Giroud was a superstar there......😂😂😂😂
babayi
325
stupid everyone think he can say any word to Ronaldo becouse fifa and UEFA didn't support him
AbeebBadmus
310
it is always funny how people forget how ruthless Ronaldo was when it came to dribbling and playmaking till Ronaldo reached 30 it's still a debate about who's a better dribbler between him and Messi. he switched his game after 30 years and turned to goal machine. and that was after his injury which ended hazard career. but these days they make it look like Ronaldo isn't a dribbler or passer at all
kusimrtu
232
He is 100% right
miheiklmrt
157
At least he wasn’t greedy he didn’t went to Saudi for big money and spoke freely, but most of all he was real, thankful. I use to hate Eden because of the rivalry with my club ❤️🔥🤍 after this interview though he earned my respect 🫡
The_Truth
93
Lots of f00lish people are gathered here to talk nonsense about Hazard and try to portray he is nothing compared to Ronaldo. For those people - Hazard was a great baller and had played more games as a ballaer than CR. After 2014, CR was never a true baller, insted a Goal Scoring machine. In that case, Hazard was clearly better baller than Ronaldo and continued to ball more seasons than Ronaldo. But, the cr fans never have the mind to appreciate greatness. Rather, they would choose some tap sters and place them as World's best player. What a shame. Prime Hazard was a true baller, and there were only very few players above him. Ofcourse Messi was better dribbler, decision maker, and playamker than Hazard, while Hazard comes second to Messi in all these aspects. But compared to CR, Hazard only falls behind Goals, rest everything Hazard was better. That's a fact.
Chop31
23
Hazard he's just a fool who's Hazard what has he achieved in life to compare with the greatest of all time CR7 in teams of football ⚽
These is the reason Ronaldo fans are very brainless, Always read and understand before you comment kiddo
Rj13
14
it is always funny how people forget how ruthless Ronaldo was when it came to dribbling and playmaking till Ronaldo reached 30 it's still a debate about who's a better dribbler between him and Messi. he switched his game after 30 years and turned to goal machine. and that was after his injury which ended hazard career. but these days they make it look like Ronaldo isn't a dribbler or passer at all
Wish your comment would have reached worldwide Young Ronaldo was a beast 🔥🔥
Paaceiorsy
12
And that's nothing but the truth..! Cristiano Ronaldo is a bigger player than Hazard ofcos, but in terms of pure football Hazard is way better than Ronaldo
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what do you mean by pure football, does cr7 play adulterated football? haters must find or see excuses
Android 17
11
If he were to train like Ronaldo7, he wouldn't have burnt out as he claimed he would have been very good and fit to continue but see the consequences of leaving. I don't care life. Pure complacency
Hazard knows himself better than you bro lmao
DaniloBossy
10
it is always funny how people forget how ruthless Ronaldo was when it came to dribbling and playmaking till Ronaldo reached 30 it's still a debate about who's a better dribbler between him and Messi. he switched his game after 30 years and turned to goal machine. and that was after his injury which ended hazard career. but these days they make it look like Ronaldo isn't a dribbler or passer at all
you don't even understand what dribbling is, Ronaldo is a descent one pattern dribbler, he needs space to dribble, using step overs and pace. go and watch people like Ben Afa, Neymar, Hazard, then you understand what dribbling means.