Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has suggested that teammate Eden Hazard is a better footballer than Cristiano Ronaldo and considers the Belgian to be only behind Lionel Messi in terms of all-round pedigree. The Blues attacker had a strong World Cup with Belgium who managed to secure the bronze medal position and he has since started the new season on a bright note, contributing towards five goals from as many games for club and country.

Speaking after Germany’s Nations League opener versus France, Rudiger was impressed with the drive from Kylian Mbappe over the course of the game but he still placed Hazard above the Frenchman and Ronaldo in terms of the all-round play, he said: “Mbappe is unbelievably fast, really good. To stop him, you have to do it as a team, because alone ... good luck! But for me, the best in the world is Messi, then Hazard. To be honest, I'm surprised how well we've done because players like Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante had big World Cups and came back late for training. They are in good shape and that's impressive.”

Shortly after the summer World Cup, “Hazard had indicated that he could consider a potential challenge away from the Blues with Real Madrid “among the prime contenders for his signature. However,“ he appears to have thereafter “ made his mind up to stay with west London giants for the campaign and depending on the club’s progress this term, he may consider a possible contract extension.

The former Lille man has under two years remaining on his existing contract with the FA Cup holders and reports have recently suggested that the Blues will have to guarantee him Champions League football at the least next season to keep him in their ranks. Hazard has already been offered a contract worth £300,000-a-week on the table but so far, he has shown no intention of putting pen-to-paper on the proposed agreement.