The former Paris Saint-Germain South American duo of Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. are the two most technically skilled players in world football. The footballing duo shares a great bond off the field and are close friends, despite their national teams’ classico rivalry in Brazil vs Argentina.
Neymar Jr. has immense respect for his former teammate and friend, Lionel Messi, and shared the pitch with him at FC Barcelona and PSG before they parted ways this season to join their new clubs. Alongside Messi, Neymar Jr. rates Belgian winger Eden Hazard as one of the most technically skilled players.
Hazard followed Messi in technical prowess
In 2021, during a 5-a-side event organized by Neymar Jr. and Red Bull, the Brazilian was asked in an interview how the top 5 players, according to him, are more technical than him.
Neymar generously stated that he considers himself one of the most gifted footballers, and he named his friend and former teammate Lionel as the greatest of all time, acknowledging the Argentine’s greatness and achievements.
Brazilian star listed his top 5 choices who he reckons to be among the most technically sound players. The list included the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne, Marco Verratti, and Thiago Alcantara.
Neymar said, “I don’t know if I can answer that, with all the humility in the world I consider myself one of the most technical players in football today.
“I would say Messi, Hazard, [Kevin] De Bruyne and [Marco] Verratti. I’m missing one, right? More technical than me Thiago.”
Hazard was playing his club football at Real Madrid that season and was struggling to make a mark; yet he was regarded as one of the technically sound and gifted players in terms of dribbling and speed in goal scoring.
Neymar Jr. has immense respect for the Belgium international. However, his time at Real Madrid wasn’t very impressive as he couldn’t meet the expectations that came with the 150-million-euro contract, leading to its termination before the intended term ended.
Eden Hazard announces retirement from football
One of the most prominent names in European football in the last decade, Eden Hazard announced his retirement from football. He left Real Madrid after reaching a mutual agreement with the club to part ways and since then remained a free agent.
Hazard had already bidden farewell to international football following the Qatar World Cup 22 exit with the Belgian international team. Reports emerged that the former Chelsea winger is also considering retiring from the club football as well. Yesterday, Hazard shared a social media post confirming the news to the fans.
We wish the player a happy start to the next chapter of his life after retirement.
