18 February 2023 , 00:00
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John Obi Mikel has claimed his former Chelsea team-mate Eden Hazard is the "laziest footballer" he's ever seen.
The pair played together in west London, winning several honours in that time. Mikel had been at Stamford Bridge for years when Hazard rocked up in 2012, signing from Lille with a sky-high reputation. The Belgian would enjoy a hugely impressive career in the capital.
He helped Chelsea twice win the title, whilst on an individual basis he was handed the PFA Player of the Year award in 2015. Hazard's skillset saw him lauded throughout his time in England, but those who saw him everyday will have observed a very different side to him.
Despite his incredible talent Mikel claims the now Real Madrid man hardly ever put the effort in whilst training, yet would produce stellar performances at the weekend. He told Dubai Eye 103.8 : "I never knew how much training meant to these guys until I joined Chelsea. The way they play in games is the way they train. There was tackles flying in, there was fights at the training ground.
"There's people proper boxing at the training ground because everybody wants to be in the team come the weekend. There is no place for you to like be like, 'Okay, I don't want to train today.' The only player I saw that did that and got away with it was Eden Hazard."
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He went on to say about the Belgian: "Oh, he never trained! He was the laziest footballer I've ever seen in my life! But come the weekend he produced. He was the Man of the Match."
Hazard left Chelsea in 2018, signing for Real Madrid with a year left on his contract. He cost Los Blancos huge money, but will go down as one of their biggest flops of the modern era having struggled for form and fitness whilst in the Spanish capital.
To date, the Belgian, who has claimed a Champions League winners' medal with Madrid, has scored seven times in his three-and-a-half seasons - making just 73 appearances through that time.
Mikel has previously told Diario AS on Hazard's potential: “I’ve always said that Hazard is one of the most gifted players. He had it all: power, skill, technique. He was right behind [Lionel] Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but only if he wanted it.
“He sometimes said ‘yes, I want to be so good, I can be. Not as good as Messi because he’s from another planet, but I think I can be close to Cristiano and even better’. Those were the words that came out of his mouth, but he’s not that dedicated. He doesn’t train well. He’s the worst trainer I’ve ever played with.”