Chelsea's Eden Hazard: I could be on Messi's and Ronaldo's level soon

Eden Hazard

Chelsea forward Eden Hazard wants to emulate the incredible successes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and believes he has matured under Jose Mourinho.

The Belgian international has been in superb form for Chelsea this season and leads the way in both assists and goals scored. His efforts, alongside Oscar, forced Juan Mata out of the side and subsequently meant he was sold to Manchester United.

The 23-year-old, who arrived in London in a £32 million deal from Lille in 2012, accepts he has the ability to follow in the footsteps of Messi and Ronaldo, who have claimed the Ballon d’Or honour for the World Player of the Year on multiple occasions.

“Of course I want to be the best in the world,” he told Het Laatste Nieuws. “Previously I was more worried about the game itself: football was just a game for me, I wanted to amuse myself and didn’t bother what the people thought about me.

“But since I’m here at Chelsea, I’ve become more aware of my qualities, I guess. Before I knew I was a good player, but not one of the better players in the world.

“Now I realise that I can compete with Messi and Ronaldo in the near future, if I put in some more effort. I don’t know if I will ever reach their level. It’ll be hard, they have incredible stats, but I accept the challenge.”

Eden Hazard has created the most chances in the Premier League this season with 52.