As good as they say?- Piece on Eden Hazard

Writer : Nelson Nnadi


Chelsea's superstar Eden Hazard is arguably one of the best playmakers in present day football. The Belgian genius also passes as an amazing dribbler and this among many other abilities has led many to wonder if he's as good as Messi and Ronaldo.
Football lovers have seen the prestigious ballon d 'or award being won by either Ronaldo or Messi for the past ten years. This development has made many believe that they're the best players to ever kick a ball. However, a few players have been compared to the superb duo and Eden Hazard is one of them. So now we're going to give our thoughts on that question.
*IS HAZARD AS GOOD AS MESSI AND RONALDO*
After a double player of the year award in France's ligue 1, Hazard was seen as one of the hottest prospects in Europe as at the time he signed from Lille. For that reason,expectations were understandably high for the Belgian in his first season at the bridge. A nomination for the pfa award player of the year and young player of the year award, as well as a place in the Premier league team of the season,showed that the youngster matched those expectations and more. Hazard didn't just stop there. He has gone on to help Chelsea lift the EPL a couple of times, the f.a cup once, the capital one cup and not forgetting the Europa league trophy that was won in his first season. Personally, I think Chelsea's success story over the past five years won't be as good as it is if they didn't have their mercurial forward,Eden Hazard. On the international stage, Hazard who is the captain of the Red Devils has shown how important he is since his debut in 2008. He has been an integral part of Belgium's rise to stardom in the recent years. He recently captained the side to a third place finish at the just concluded World Cup bagging the Silver ball award in the Process,an award given to the second best player in the tourney
Hazard's criticism however has been due to the fact that he is not a prolific goalscorer. Truth is Messi and Ronaldo have set the bar very high in terms of goals and assists and to be put in that category you simply have to create and score alot and Hazard is simply not at that level.
Hazard no doubt is world class but definitely a tier below Messi and Ronaldo.
What do you think?