Should the likes of David De Gea, Diego Costa and Harry Crane feel hard done that Eden Hazard won the PFA Player of the Year? Well except for the timing (why can’t they hold it after the season has ended?), the PFA Player of the Year is perhaps the most honest award out there. That’s why Hazard’s teammate John Terry said in 2005: “It is unbelievable and the ultimate accolade to be voted for by your fellow professionals whom you play against week-in and week-out.” Comparatively, while De Gea, Costa and Crane (who won the Young Player of the Year) have been instrumental, none of them have had a bigger contribution to their team’s success over the course of the season. One match which perhaps encapsulates Eden Hazard’s season was the game against the Red Devils at Stamford Bridge and one particular moment.
Picking up an Oscar back heel, he drove into the area and coolly slotted the ball between David De Gea’s legs. It’s hardly surprising that the footballers in England have voted for the talented Belgian because he has been the best player in the league this season without question. In the past he has been compared to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and while he hasn’t hit their otherworldly heights yet, there is some indication that he might get there.
In some ways, Hazard’s time in the Premier League is reminiscent of the time Cristiano Ronaldo strutted his stuff in England. Both of them are crafty players who spend a lot of time getting kicked by big opponents. But like Ronaldo, he always gets back up. And some would suggest that he takes criticism better than Ronaldo, who never had a stomach for public criticism. Last year, Jose Mourinho, who also managed Ronaldo at Real, singled out Hazard for his poor work-rate after the loss to Atletico Madrid. There was also a school of thought that Hazard lacked the charisma to justify his talent. Well, the Belgian is certainly a quiet one, but that doesn’t mean he lacks will power or gumption. After all, not everyone can be an Eric Cantona or a John Terry. But he has led Chelsea quietly through the season, as they look to celebrate Jose Mourinho’s second season with a Premier League trophy.
This year, Hazard has scored 13 goals and provided eight assists from 33 starts, what’s telling is his contribution against the big boys. He has scored or assisted against the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City, particularly when Chelsea have looked a bit shaky. So the only question is whether Hazard will stay or leave for Spain like Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Luiz Suarez, his PFA winning predecessors. In fact, Real Madrid have already started seducing the Belgian with former France great and Real legend Zinedine Zidane claiming the likes the Belgian more than Ronaldo and Messi. He said: “I enjoy everything he does on the pitch. I like the way he carries himself, that decisive streak in him and the fact that he’s improving every year. He can still get better too, and I think he’s a big reason why Chelsea are on top of the table.”
If Real want Hazard, they will have to break the bank because the 24-year-old is on a new five-and-half-year contract. Jose Mourinho is quite confident about hanging on to his star player. When asked about what it would cost his former club, the Portuguese was quoted saying that it would cost £100m per leg and if they were willing to pay only £100m, then they’d have to part with one of the their top three players. He added: “If they want him, I think I would be the first one to know, because my relationship with the president [Florentino Perez] and with the CEO [Jose Angel Sanchez] doesn’t give space for something to happen behind me. I trust them completely. If they want him they get on the telephone and they call me to tell me they want him.”
