Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi Mentality Isn't Within Me, Says Eden Hazard

Chelsea star Eden Hazard believes he will never be able to match the goalscoring exploits of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as he does not have the same mentality as the two Liga giants.

Speaking to Sport/Foot Magazine (h/t ESPN FC), the Belgium international made the comments, saying he's happy with his current scoring numbers:

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I often ask myself what I can do to become like Messi and Ronaldo and score 50 or 60 goals in a season. I try of course but I realise that I will never be a true scorer. It's not in me. It is mainly mental.

At 2-0, not thinking that is enough for example. Sometimes I still think after a goal, 'that's enough. I'm not in search of records like some other players—if I can score between 15 and 20 goals each season, I will be very happy.

I'm at a peak of my career but I want to become even better every day. I'm not there yet.

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The 24-year-old enjoyed a fine 2014-15 campaign, leading Chelsea to the Premier League title with 14 goals and nine assists, per WhoScored.com, and winning the PFA Player of the Year award in the process.

As reported by Sky Sports, Blues manager Jose Mourinho caused a bit of a controversy during the summer when he claimed his attacking star had a better season than Ronaldo, who finished the Liga season with an absurd 48 goals but failed to win any domestic silverware with Real Madrid, via WhoScored.com.

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The claims were criticised and led to a strong debate on social media, with fans and pundits alike taking shots at the Chelsea manager. The Daily Telegraph's Alistair Tweedale took a deeper look at the statistics and suggested Hazard still has a long way to go to catch up to Ronaldo.

Of course, goals aren't the only metric used to determine a player's value, and Hazard remains one of the more versatile players in the Premier League. The amount of chances he creates for his team-mates is impressive, for instance, as demonstrated by Squawka:

But more goals is exactly what fans and pundits want out of Hazard, and Bleacher Report's Daniel Tiluk urged the Belgian to become more like Ronaldo and Messi before the start of the season:

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For Hazard to take the next step in his evolutionary process, he must become a capitalist footballer.

Any chance to shoot: He shoots.

Any dribble he can make: He makes.

Any game he can control: He dominates.

No more passing in hopes of a better option; rather taking the option at hand or, in this case, at feet—specifically his own.

"

Four matches into the 2015-16 campaign, defending champions Chelsea have struggled. Hazard has yet to discover the form that made him and his team-mates so dominant early last season. Through four matches, he's yet to score a goal―although, interestingly enough, Messi and Ronaldo have also yet to find the net in four combined league matches.

Mourinho has already called out Hazard as one of the players who has to step up to pull the Blues out of their slump, reported by beIN Sports, asking his star forward to have a similar season to last one: "If you are the best player in the league, I think it should be a good responsibility to have a similar season than in the previous season."

Hazard has already proved he can be the best player in the Premier League without leading the scoring charts, impacting matches in other ways. Fans always like to see more goals, but if he can rediscover the form that saw him win the Player of the Year award last season and lead Chelsea to another title, there will be few complaints coming out of west London.

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