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Real Madrid attacker Eden Hazard picked Barcelona captain Lionel Messi as the greatest footballer of all time. The Belgian maestro has endured a slow start to his career in Spain but will look to return to his best after the turn of the year.
Hazard, in an interview with HLN in 2019, admitted that he is a huge admirer of Lionel Messi and wasted no time in picking the Argentine icon as the greatest of all time.
"Two G.O.A.T.s (Greatest of All Time) you say? No way. There is only one G.O.A.T: Him, Lionel Messi!"
"Those two games against Barcelona were not my best memories of 2018. I was happy to play against Barcelona and Messi, but I didn’t deliver what I expected. I was disillusioned."
Lionel Messi is a special player, says Real Madrid star Eden Hazard
In 2018, Eden Hazard and Lionel Messi locked horns in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League. The Belgian attacker was with Chelsea at the time and the Blues were downed by Lionel Messi, who spearheaded Barcelona to the quarterfinals of the competition.
The Real Madrid attacker spoke about the game and admitted that he wasn't at his best while coming up against Lionel Messi and also added that his eldest son is a massive fan of the Argentine.
"My three sons were there for the home match at Stamford Bridge. The eldest is a big Messi fan - all of us are Messi fans, actually. He wanted to see Messi that day, because Messi is a special player."
Both Real Madrid and Barcelona have blown hot and cold this season, with the former starting the season as defending champions of La Liga. While Lionel Messi has cut a frustrated figure at times after his failed transfer move earlier this summer, Hazard has been injured for the lion's share of the current season.
Both players are amongst the best attackers in world football and will look to spearhead their respective teams to the La Liga title in the coming months.
