Chelsea star Eden Hazard has revealed the players that are better than him in world football. The Belgian has been in brilliant form for Chelsea this season, scoring 16 goals and and providing 11 assists.
Hazard has praised Mohamed Salah as one of the players he looks up to in football, admitting that he is looking the Egyptians level. Salah won the Golden Boot in the Premier League last season and has scored 20 goals in all competitions this term.
‘I like [Luka] Modric,’ he told NBC Sports when asked about the players he looks up to. He’s more of a midfielder than me but, of course, I like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
‘Mo Salah is one of my good friends and he’s doing something incredible. I try to look at this player and this player and try to reach that level.’
Meanwhile, reports indicate that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has given up on the fight to keep Hazard this summer with the superstar closer to joining Real Madrid. The Belgian international has won the Premier League, the Europa League and the FA Cup since joining the Blues from French Ligue 1 side Lille in 2012.
The 28-year-old is no doubt one of the best players in Europe and the Bernabeu side are desperate to get him when the current campaign ends. Real Madrid have shown interest in Hazard for many years and returning manager Zinedine Zidane is a huge admirer of the Belgian.
On Monday, it was reported that Chelsea had rejected an opening offer from Real Madrid to sign Hazard. But according to AS, the 2016 Premier League champions are preparing for Hazard’s departure, knowing they will be unable to resist Real’s approaches at the end of the current campaign.
It is claimed owner Abramovich and transfer chief and Marina Granovskaia are both resigned to Hazard leaving Stamford Bridge for his dream club Real. On Tuesday, Hazard insisted he would not be distracted by the mounting speculation over his future in England.
He said: ‘At the moment there’s nobody waiting for me. We still have two important months with Chelsea. We can win the Europa League. We have to win the Europa League or we have to finish in the top four to play in the Champions League.
‘I am only thinking about that (last two months with Chelsea), not about what might happen in two, three, four months. I don’t know. We will see.’