Chelsea's Eden Hazard Must Dazzle in Champions League to Become Generation Great

Jose Mourinho is cutting a far more relaxed figure these days.

"The first point to compare is the size," he joked when asked by a journalist if Eden Hazard can ever reach the heights of Zinedine Zidane, a player it is well known the diminutive Belgian regards as an idol.

Mourinho was speaking in his press briefing ahead of this week's Champions League clash with Schalke.

"He is a fantastic player," he had earlier said of Hazard. "We are feeling day by day his motivation to work hard and to improve, so we have big hopes he will go from a top player that he is at this moment to reach a huge, higher level.

"He wants to become one of the best and he is a player we want to keep. He has a long-term contract and so young as he is, it is true that Chelsea is trying to have an agreement for a new contract."

"[...] It will be a question of time [...] but we will end in a new contract."

It was confirmation of the recent rumours in the Daily Mail that suggested Hazard is to be offered an improved £200,000 per week, five-year deal.

And come the end of that period, Mourinho hopes Hazard would have gone from being "a top player to become one of the greats of his generation."

It's certainly within his capabilities, but why wait for the future? Hazard needs to be producing the goods now if he is to be held in such high esteem.

There was a time when World Cups were the mark of the truly fine players. Diego Maradona did it at the World Cup, as did Pele before him. Bobby Moore did; Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer did.

That's no longer valid.

Whereas World Cups were once the touchstone, in the modern era that honour falls upon the Champions League.

It's world football's finest competition and given the cosmopolitan nature of the club game now, it's a tougher beast to conquer.

The Champions League comes around every year, where teams constantly evolve and the pendulum of power swings.

A few years back English football dominated and in more recent times it's been Spain and Germany.

Regardless, though, while the champions may change every year and new powers emerge, the same players have been the centre piece of any season.

Lately, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been the flag bearers for Champions League football. If their respective clubs do not win the competition, their names are still on a shortlist of two for the Ballon d'Or and other individual honours.

Some such as Franck Ribery will attempt to crash the party every now and then, only to fail in the glare of what Messi and Ronaldo consistently produce.

They score the best goals, the most goals, the important goals. They get crowds off their feet and have commentators salivating.

Four and six years Hazard's senior, respectively, they are undoubtedly the players of their generation.

It hasn't been about domestic dominance with them. Every Champions League matchday, Messi and Ronaldo extend their show beyond the borders of Spain.

They invite the entire continent to marvel at their brilliance, dazzling from Barcelona and Madrid to London, Munich and Rome.

Messi and Ronaldo belong to the Champions League generation. They are about so much more than La Liga.

Hazard hasn't achieved that status yet. He's threatened to, but his Premier League form hasn't quite been replicated overseas.

He hasn't won games single-handedly by overwhelming the opposition, he hasn't left that big an impression outside of his achievements in English football, but his £32 million transfer fee has been justified.

Chelsea and Mourinho need to see him carry them this season and beyond.

Hazard spoke only last week of how Diego Costa has helped take the pressure off him in west London, meaning he can focus on other aspects of his game.

That may be the case, but he's living with a different kind of pressure now.

He's 23 and the time has come for him to shine, replace those Messi headlines with some of his own.

Until he does, Hazard's place among the greats of European football will always be vacant.

*Unless noted, all quotes obtained firsthand

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes