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Eden Hazard could quit Chelsea because of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi - pundit
EDEN HAZARD could quit Chelsea because he wants to follow in Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's footsteps, according to Sky Sports pundit Liam Rosenior.
Ronaldo and Messi have won the last 10 Ballon d'Ors between them while starring for Real Madrid and Barcelona.
But both are now into their 30s - Ronaldo is 33 and Messi is 31 - and Rosenior thinks Hazard could look for a move to try and match their feats.
"He is an absolutely world class footballer and he's taken it to a new level this season," Rosenior told Sky Sports.
"For Chelsea fans it's a real shame if he does want to leave but at the same time, looking at it from his perspective, I totally understand.
"If you're Eden Hazard right now, you're saying 'what's next for me at Chelsea?'
"It's like 'I've won the Premier League, I've done incredible things at this club, I want to be the next Messi or Ronaldo, who are both getting older'.
"'I want to be the next one. I want to be seen in that light', he will say, and if I'm comparing his performances to say Neymar, I know who I'm taking in my team every week and it's Eden Hazard.
"I completely understand why he wants to go from that level, to that level."
Hazard last week admitted that moving to Real Madrid would be a 'dream'.
"Real Madrid is the best club in the world," Hazard said. "I don't want to lie. It is my dream since I was a kid. I was dreaming about this club.
"We will see. We will talk about my future soon. In my head, sometimes in my head I wake up in the morning and think I want to go. Sometimes I think I want to stay. It is a hard decision.
"It is my future. It is also when you have a dream and you want to make it happen. It is like I have said a lot of times, if I leave I will be happy. I know if I stay I will be happy. It is not like, if I go I am happy and if I stay that I am unhappy."
Bruce Buck: Chelsea will do everything to entice Hazard to stay
Ballon d'Or winners - the last 10 years
2008 Cristiano Ronaldo
2009 Lionel Messi
2010 Lionel Messi
2011 Lionel Messi
2012 Lionel Messi
2013 Cristiano Ronaldo
2014 Cristiano Ronaldo
2015 Lionel Messi
2016 Cristiano Ronaldo
2017 Cristiano Ronaldo