Eden Hazard Would Make Mistake Going from Lille to PSG

Eden Hazard is one of the hottest young footballers in the world.

He is routinely linked with the biggest clubs in the world, like Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Barcelona. You can pretty much name any club and find some sort of rumor surrounding it possibly landing Hazard.

Recently, though, Paris Saint-Germain has thrown their hat in the ring. And surprisingly, Hazard seems to open to that move.

I say "surprisingly" because, while PSG has new Qatari ownership that is willing to spend truckloads of cash, the club definitely lacks the pedigree of a European giant.

Granted, PSG is certainly building what could be a serious power in Ligue 1 and, more importantly, the Champions League.

Spending almost €40 million on Javier Pastore sent a message across Europe that the Qatari ownership means business. Then, the club was able to bring in Carlo Ancelotti.

I still think that they are at least two or three years away from really making a dent in the Champions League, however.

To me, the issue isn't so much the club as it is the league.

Ligue 1 is behind the Premier League, La Liga, the Bundesliga or Serie A when it comes to level of competition. I think that in a few years, the French league could get on equal footing with their European counterparts.

But in order for Hazard to reach his full potential, I think he needs to be exposed to world-class football on a weekly basis right now. He can't afford to waste some of his most important developmental years in France.

I think we could see the same problems arise for Neymar.

He signed a contract extension with Santos through 2014. It's great for the club and for the Brazilian league, but it's not necessarily great for Neymar to constantly face competition that is clearly below him.

It would be great to see young players stick with their boyhood clubs for their entire careers, but you have to look at the situation with a realistic perspective.

Eden Hazard owes it to himself to become the best footballer he can be.

That's not going to happen if he stays in Ligue 1.