Chelsea legend Eden Hazard weighs in on GOAT debate as he explains key difference between Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo - but neither is his favourite

The ex-Real Madrid forward, who took on the iconic No.7 shirt at Santiago Bernabeu when making his way to Spain in 2019, is a big fan of the many qualities that Messi and Ronaldo possess. He is not about to start questioning their credentials or what they have done for the game in the modern era.

Hazard is, however, of the opinion that former France international Zinedine Zidane – another ‘Galactico’ from Real’s past – sits at the top of any all-time chart. He has told the Obi One Podcast when asked for his take on the GOAT discussion: “For me Messi is the one. Messi is the one if you talk about football. But then people they have different opinions on that, Ronaldo is the GOAT to score goals and to bring trophies to the team. This guy wow, look at him now he is 39 and will score goals until he is 50, believe me. Me, I am more my style of play is Messi, but for me the greatest is Zidane.”

Hazard has played against Messi and Ronaldo in the past, allowing him to watch them at close quarters, and was taken to Madrid by 1998 World Cup winner Zidane during the Frenchman’s second spell in charge of Los Blancos.

Hazard flopped at the Bernabeu, resulting in his release and subsequent retirement in 2023, but Messi and Ronaldo – who have 13 Ballons d’Or between them - are still going strong. They are now on the books of Inter Miami and Al-Nassr respectively, with more records being broken as they continue to chase down major honours.