Juan Mata has labelled his former teammate Eden Hazard as the greatest ever Premier League player.
Mata played with the Belgian for 18 months at Chelsea before joining United in 2014.
But those 18 months were enough to convince the 31-year-old that Hazard was a special talent.
The best Premier League player... I mean, I used to love to play with, and against, Eden Hazard," Mata told ManUtd.com.
"For me, for many years, he was the best in the league. He could win games by himself. I used to train with him and I know how good he can be.
"He has been very unlucky in his time with Real Madrid with some injuries, but I'm sure he'll show his real level when he's fit to do that and he's not injured."
Hazard left Chelsea to join 'Los Blancos' for €100 million last summer but his time in the Spanish capital has been ravaged by injuries.
The 29-year-old has admitted himself that it's been a 'bad' season but he's keen to make his mark in La Liga.
He's also recently discussed his struggles with keeping up to speed with his quarantine diet plan.
"It's complicated for me," Hazard told RTBF, via Marca.
"I'm trying not to eat a lot. I'm trying not to go into the pantry to eat a lot of buns, but it's not easy.
Eden Hazard is just keeping it real 😆 pic.twitter.com/Ud9fvTrgt7
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 12, 2020
"I'm working with the physic online. He can't come here anymore because he fell ill and has to stay at home.
"We started 10 days ago, but he sends me videos from home. I'm working to strengthen my ankle and I'm doing what I can from home."
During his time at Chelsea, he won two Premier League titles as well as the FA Cup and Europa League alongside multiple individual awards.
Mata did go on to name some other Premier League greats however, including former teammates Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba.
"Other than him [Hazard], we've had many players. You can speak about the history of the Premier League and you can maybe put some of my ex-team-mates like Wayne Rooney - he has to be up there.
"Ryan Giggs has to be up there, and Paul Scholes. My ex-team-mates from Chelsea: [Frank] Lampard, [John] Terry, [Didier] Drogba. It's very difficult to pick one."
Who do you think is the greatest Premier League player of all time?
Let us know in the comments.
source https://www.sportbible.com/football/football-news-legends-reactions-mata-names-eden-hazard-as-the-premier-leagues-greatest-ever-player-20200415
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