Cesc Fabregas Labels Eden Hazard Chelsea's Lionel Messi, Explains Arsenal Snub

The list of players compared to Lionel Messi in recent years has been long and typically overhyped. But one man who knows exactly what it’s like to be in the company of the great Barcelona forward is Cesc Fabregas, and the Chelsea midfielder reckons one of his new team-mates can be a comparably talismanic figure for the Blues.

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That player is Eden Hazard, a young man who has been lavished with praise following another virtuoso display in the Premier League. This time, he was the key instigator in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Arsenal, dazzling the Gunners with a wonderful coalescence of raw directness, precise dribbling and a devastating end product.

Sound familiar? Speaking to Radio Cope (h/t per Pete Jenson of the Mail Online), according to Fabregas, there are definitely stylistic comparisons to be made between the Belgian international and the legendary Blaugrana forward: "Hazard has that incredible ability to unsettle the opposition. He is the link between midfield and attack for us; he is our Messi because he makes the difference."

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The two don’t play in the same position, there are four years separating them in terms of age, and they both herald from different backgrounds, but it’s easy to see where the comparisons stem from purely in terms of style. Messi loves to drop into midfield, take players on and offer an eminently elusive presence for his team. So does Hazard.

Here’s how the two players compare so far this season:

	Lionel Messi	Eden Hazard
Appearances	7	9
Goals	6	2
Assists	6	2
Average Dribbles Per Game	4.6	5.2
Average Key Passes Per Game	3.9	2.1
Pass Success	84.3%	88.3%

Hazard is quickly establishing himself as one of the finest players in the Premier League, and although his new Spanish team-mate has made something of a comparison between the Barcelona and the Chelsea No. 10s, Hazard still has to up his game significantly to be considered in the same bracket as the game’s finest, as illustrated by the numbers above.

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But at just 23 years of age, the Belgian is capable of approaching those sorts of heights, and under the tutelage of Jose Mourinho, we’re already seeing subtle improvements in the former Lille man’s game. If he can add a regular stream of goals to his game—something Hazard has admitted himself that he needs to do, per FourFourTwo—then he has every chance of becoming one of the best there is.

He's already developed into Chelsea's best player in the eyes of many, and the statistics would go a long way to backing that particular narrative, as noted here by Squawka:

Fabregas is not a man to mawkishly hand out praise, and he’ll be acutely aware of Hazard’s frightening potential. You suspect the former Arsenal man will have been delighted to join up with Mourinho’s blue revolution, too, especially after the manner in which the Stamford Bridge outfit forensically crushed the Gunners in their last Premier League outing.

And despite his Arsenal ties, Fabregas has claimed that he knew pretty early on last season that Stamford Bridge would be his most likely destination, per Radio Cope (h/t Jenson):

"

It was during the last season that the Chelsea option began to look like the best one for me. [Arsene] Wenger had my position well covered with [Mesut] Ozil, Santi [Cazorla] and [Jack] Wilshere. It was the position he needed least and so I chose Chelsea even though Arsenal had the first option.

My first meeting with Mourinho was face to face. There was a lot of respect and he convinced me very quickly. We were very honest with each other that everything that had happened [between Barcelona and Real Madrid] was now in the past. 

My mind was made up talking to him. Of the three options I had in England I told him I that I had made my mind up.

"

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The early indications certainly suggest that the former Barcelona man has made the right decision, and Fabregas has been as good for Chelsea as they have for him.

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He’s a player that’s not only struck up an instant understanding with fellow Spanish international Diego Costa but a schemer that brings a refreshing edge to the Blues’ attacking play. Fabregas has been magnificent next to Nemanja Matic in the heart of the Chelsea midfield, and his ability to control the game is second to none when it comes to players in the Premier League.

Chelsea—Mourinho in particular—will also be hugely beneficial for Fabregas. Already, the Spaniard looks matured under the tutelage of the former Real Madrid manager, and as this wonderful crop of players continues to flourish at Stamford Bridge, you suspect players like Fabregas and Hazard will be at the centre of many more glories to come—perhaps even at the expense of Messi and the Blaugrana.