Eden Hazard played alongside a number of top footballers over the course of his career at Lille,
Chelsea and Real Madrid, but the Belgian made a surprising choice for his most talented team-mate
Eden Hazard has named Gael Kakuta as the best young talent he has ever played with, despite him having flopped at Chelsea.
Kakuta joined the Blues in 2007 from Lens, but it sparked major controversy.
FIFA handed the winger a four-month ban and also sanctioned Chelsea after it was ruled the Premier League side induced him into breaking his contract in France.
An appeal to Court of Arbitration for Sport reversed that decision, instead ruling that Kakuta did not have a valid contract with Lens.
Despite ultimately avoiding a ban, the winger struggled to make an impact at Stamford Bridge.
He would make just 16 appearances in all competitions in his six years in the first team, without scoring a goal.
Instead, he spent much of that period out on loan with the likes of Bolton, Dijon and Rayo Vallecano.
Since leaving Chelsea in 2015, Kakuta has spent much of his career in France, dropping off many Premier League fans’ radar.
But Hazard has now surprisingly named the former Chelsea flop as one of the top players he featured alongside.
“In Real Madrid I play with the best player in the world. For me [Luka] Modric, [Karim] Benzema, they are top top of the list,”
Hazard told the Obi One Podcast when asked which of his former team-mates had the most talent.
“When you say Kevin De Bruyne, he’s top on the list, when you say [Frank] Lampard he’s top of the list,
Juan Mata for me was top of the list. I’m gonna give you one name and John knows the player.
“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 and Kakuta came through their respective youth systems at Lille and Lens at around the same time.
And the former Real Madrid star has pinpointed that period as the time he saw Kakuta’s talent, as he defended him for struggling in England.
“You know, I play I play against him a lot when because I used to play in Lille and he was playing in Lens. You know, it’s a derby, it’s the north of France,” Hazard added.
