Former Chelsea and Real Madrid superstar Eden Hazard has picked Lionel Messi's left foot and snubbed Cristiano Ronaldo while building the perfect footballer. The Belgian made a few interesting picks when naming the attributes of his perfect footballer but his refusal to take anything from the Portuguese icon has earned some attention.
This week, Eden Hazard joined a host of other footballing figures in building his perfect footballer via a short Q&A session with Celline Dept. In a video that was posted on the hostess' official Instagram account, the Belgian revealed the players from whom he'd take certain attributes to build up his ideal player. Lionel Messi featured on the list but Cristiano Ronaldo missed out.
When asked to pick the best left foot, the former Chelsea playmaker didn't hesitate to name the Inter Miami maestro. For the right foot, he chose to stick with himself. Hazard also went with former Blues colleague Didier Drogba for the header, Real Madrid's Toni Kroos for football IQ and ex-Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar for skills.
Here's a summary of Eden Hazard's perfect footballer:
Left foot: Messi
Right foot: Hazard
Header: Drogba
Football IQ: Kroos
Skills: Neymar
This isn't the first time Eden Hazard has trended his comments about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Belgian recently made headlines when he claimed that he was better than the Portuguese on pure football terms and that only the Argentine was ahead of him in that context.
"Individually, Messi is perhaps the only one. I loved watching the Barcelona player, less so at the end but he's the greatest in history. It's impossible to take the ball away from him. Cristiano is a bigger player than me but, in terms of pure football, I honestly don't think so," he said during an interview with L'Equipe.
Eden Hazard called time on his playing career last year as he announced his retirement on October 10 at the age of 32. The Belgian is currently spending time with his family as he looks forward to what the future has in store.
How Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo fared in recent games
Cristiano Ronaldo had a torrid start to March as he couldn't prevent Al Nassr from crashing out of the AFC Champions League following a shootout loss to Al Ain. Another defeat to Al Read in the Saudi Pro League followed but the Portuguese bounced back by scoring to earn his team a 1-0 win over Al Ahli in the league last weekend.
Lionel Messi, meanwhile has enjoyed a smooth run in recent weeks as Inter Miami claimed three victories and one draw in their last four games. This term, he has bagged five goals for the club in as many games across competitions to go with two assists.
Up next, the Miamians will go head-to-head with DC United at Audi Field in an MLS encounter today (March 16). Al Nassr, meanwhile, will lock horns with Al Tai in the Saudi Pro League in their next game on March 30.