Eden Hazard Includes AFCON Star in List of Best 6 Players He Played Alongside

• Eden Hazard surprisingly named a Chelsea flop as an underappreciated talent
• The former Chelsea man had some big names in his list of talented teammates
• Before his retirement in 2023, Hazard played alongside some of the biggest names

Former Chelsea star Eden Hazard made some surprise inclusions in his list of the five best players he played with.

Despite being one of the best players in the world in his prime, Hazard was also priviledged to be surrounded by immense talent in the teams he represented.

During a recent interview on the Obi One Podcast, Hazard looked back at his time at Lille, Chelsea and Real Madrid as he picked players he believes were the most talented he played alongside.

Typically, being tasked with narrowing down such a list to six players can pose a challenge for any player who has played for big clubs, and Hazard was no exception.

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But one of the names in the 33-year-old’s list was Kevin de Bruyne, and this one went without saying.

Kevin de Bruyne

De Bruyne was the only national teammate in Hazard’s list for good reason as the pair formed one of the most formidable forces world football.

Unfortunately, the so-called Golden generation of Belgium failed to convert their talent to success, particularly at the World Cup.

Juan Mata

The Spaniard only spent a year and a half playing with Hazard at Stamford Bridge before moving to Manchester United.

Regardless, that short period playing together was enough to convince the Belgian of Mata’s immense talent on a football.

Frank Lampard

Another former Chelsea teammate, Hazard also named midfielder Frank Lampard in his list.

Like Mata, Lampard also briefly shared the dressing room with Hazard before leaving the club in 2014 to join Manchester City.

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Luka Modric

Of course, Hazard had to have a Ballon d’Or winner in his list.

His other pick was his former Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric, who famously led his nation to second place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

It was classy to see Hazard include Modric in his list despite not enjoying his best years playing alongside the Croatian.

Karim Benzema

Another Real Madrid player in Hazard’s list was Karim Benzema, who enjoyed the best years of his career after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo from the Bernabeu in 2018.

Unfortunately, Benzema’s most prolific season in Los Blancos colours (2021/22) was the same one Hazard struggled with injuries and only managed 903 minutes of football.

Gael Kakuta

For his final pick, Hazard surprised everyone when he went for a little-known name, Gael Kakuta.

Kakuta joined Chelsea in 2007 in controversial circumstances and would make just 16 appearances for the first team in all competitions.

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Having come up the youth ranks at Lens, Kakuta had some battles with Hazard, who came up at Lille.

It was during this time that the Belgian noticed how talented the DR Congo star was.

"The only one I was saying 'wow' but when I stopped playing young team you know in France was Gael Kakuta. You asked me talent. Kakuta by far number one. Talent. I mean, talent. Wow,” Hazard said, per The Mirror.

5 best players in the Premier League

In other news, Arsenal midfielder Jorginho had a hard time naming the five best players in the Premier League.

But like the rest of the world, Jorginho did not hesitate in including e Bruyne in his list.

One surprise name in his picks, however, was his former teammate Reece James.