Hazard Snubs Drogba, Picks Chelsea Flop As Most Talented Player He Played With

• Eden Hazard has surprisingly picked Gael Kakuta as his most talented teammate
• Kakuta made just six Premier League appearances in eight years at Chelsea FC
• Kakuta represented the DR Congo at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast

Eden Hazard has picked the most talented teammate he has played with throughout his senior career, and it is not any of Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Luka Modric or Kevin De Bruyne.

The former Belgium winger played alongside a number of top footballers over the course of his career at Lille, Chelsea and Real Madrid, but he made a surprising choice for his most talented teammate.

Speaking to the Obi-One podcast, Hazard has named Gael Kakuta as the best young talent he has ever played with, despite the former France youth international having flopped during his spell with the Blues.

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Kakuta, who joined Chelsea as a 16-year-old from French Ligue 1 club Lens, made just 16 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea’s first team without scoring a single goal in his six years.

Kakuta, now 32, represented the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in January, making four appearances until being ousted in the semi-finals by eventual winners, Ivory Coast.

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Meanwhile, Kakuta joined Chelsea from Lens in 2007, but the transfer created great controversy when FIFA issued the winger a four-month ban following his move to the London club, Daily Mirror reports.

The football body also sanctioned the Blues after it disclosed that the Premier League club was found to have persuaded the then 16-year-old youngster to break his contract in France.

An appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the verdict, determining that Kakuta did not have a binding contract with Lens. Despite averting a suspension, the winger struggled to make an impact at Stamford Bridge.

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Hazard opposes Ronaldo’s Ligue 1 ranking

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that former Chelsea winger Eden Hazard has disagreed with Cristiano Ronaldo’s comments that the Saudi Pro League is better than the French Ligue 1.

Since moving to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has developed the habit of comparing the Gulf country's league to its European rivals.

Hazard claims the Saudi Pro League have big players now, but they do not have big teams, unlike in France, where they do not have many big players, but they have bigger teams.