Spain international Pedro has backed Chelsea star Eden Hazard to reach his top form that had seen him draw comparisons with Barcelona star Lionel Messi.
The Belgium international had struggled last season, failing to replicate the 2014-15 title winning campaign form in the previous campaign. He scored his first Premier League goal in March and finished the season with only four goals.
Things have changed at the west London club after Antonio Conte was appointed as the new manager at Stamford Bridge. The Italian boss took charge of Chelsea after his international commitment with his national side in the Euro 2016.
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Pedro played alongside the Argentine international during his time at the Catalan club. Messi is still the star player at Barcelona and the winger remains confident that Hazard can also emulate what the La Liga star at Chelsea.
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“When it comes to Messi, we are talking about a player I believe is still the best in the world. He really is on a different level to other players," Pedro told Standard Sport.
“But Hazard is a very, very good player, you can see his technique is excellent and he has shown everything at Chelsea. He is still young, so he is going to continue improving to one day be among the very best in the world.
“It’s always going to be difficult to compete with a player of Lionel’s ability, but Eden has all the qualities to do exactly that.
“He has that ability and talent to stand out from the crowd, to make the difference and be decisive. When you see him produce moments of magic, it is easy to draw comparisons with Messi.”
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Pedro has also advised Chelsea and their supporters to be patient until Hazard hits top form.
“Everyone should be patient and forget what happened to him last season. The whole team struggled, not just Eden. You just need to look in the past and see everything he’s achieved for Chelsea and look forward to him doing it again in the future," he said.
“If you are a big player you will always have a lot of pressure on you. It’s the same for Eden, just as it is for Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Obviously, Eden has that pressure, but he responds to it well and he has proved that in the past. He has played well for Chelsea and his team-mates for many years and always shown that he can take on that responsibility.”
