The argument over whether Mo Salah or Eden Hazard is the finest winger in the Premier League will resurface now that Hazard has announced his retirement at the age of 32.
Just over three months after leaving Real Madrid, Hazard announced on Tuesday that he will be retiring from sport.
It follows a career in which he excelled for Lille and Chelsea but struggled to regain his form after joining Real, playing just 76 times in four years and scoring seven goals.
With 85 goals and 61 assists in 245 appearances for Chelsea in the English Premier League, he still ranks among the best players to ever play the sport.
Because of this, the Belgian has frequently been referred to as the best winger to play in the Premier League era.
Hazard is frequently compared to Salah, a former teammate who has outperformed him with 144 goals and 68 assists in 239 appearances.
Although he has strong support in some circles, Hazard has already said that he aimed to be like the Egyptian.
“Mo Salah is one of my good friends and he’s doing something incredible,” he said to NBC Sports in 2019.
I strive to emulate this player by comparing myself to him.
Later that year, in an interview with Le Parisien, Hazard endorsed the No. 11 and acknowledged that Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and Sadio Mane were in a tight battle for the Ballon d’Or.
“I’d award it to one of the Liverpool players. It’s due to Mane, Salah, or Van Djik, he said at the time.
“There wouldn’t have been a discussion if Senegal and Sadio had won the AFCON. If he triumphed, that would be lovely.