A few years ago, the names Eden Hazard and Neymar Jr. were just two of the entire household names of top footballing professionals. Both of them at their peak kept being compared to the past and even present football greats older than them.
They possess the tricks, the flair, as well as other key ingredients a top-class player should have. Hazard for instance at Chelsea was the London club’s star player and he carried the team on his back while he was there. The Belgian was known for his ability to beat defenders and get into the box to hit the opposition team where it hurt the most.
He was Chelsea’s best player for most of his stay there, and it was entirely deserved given how much impact he made every game week. He would turn up on every matchday to either score or assist a goal to ensure his presence was felt. Meanwhile, Neymar’s performances were very much hit and miss, and much more like roulette or one of the casino games (and you can find them here), with some games being stellar, but others being uninspiring at best.
Neymar was also a very instrumental player when he was at Barcelona as he teamed up with Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi to form a deadly “MSN” trio. The combination of these three forwards was a nightmare for the La Liga defenders back then, as they scored goals for fun.
However, since both Neymar and Hazard left Barcelona and Chelsea respectively, they’ve not replicated the form that made Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain pay huge figures to secure their signings. Although Neymar has not been such a bad player, everything has gone pretty worse for Hazard, who has unfortunately struggled for game time this season, battling with several injuries and sitting out important fixtures.
Neymar is a better player than Hazard in the Champions League according to statistics, with the Brazilian boasting of an impressive 27 goals in just 48 Champions League games, while Hazard has recorded just one goal in the competition.