Eden Hazard admits it feels good to hear talk of him being among the world’s very best players, and has stressed he is more concerned with trying to win silverware than achieve any specific goal tally.
After netting three times in Belgium’s World Cup campaign over the summer that ended with them coming third, the forward has been in fine form for Chelsea this season.
He has scored five goals in their opening six Premier League games as they have picked up 16 points from a possible 18 so far, and he added a stunning late winner in Wednesday’s 2-1 Carabao Cup third round victory at Liverpool.
Chelsea assistant boss Gianfranco Zola said that goal, which Hazard has described as “special”, served as proof the 27-year-old is one of the world’s finest players.
And when Blues midfielder Ross Barkley was asked about Hazard and the level of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, he said he believed his team-mate was currently the best in the world – a view also expressed by former Chelsea captain John Terry on Instagram.
When he was asked how he felt about comments like that, Hazard said: “It is good. I try to do what I can do when I am on the pitch. I am the same player as two years ago, three years ago.
“At the moment, I am just scoring goals, so that is why everyone is talking for me to be in the top three. It is a pleasure to be there. I just want to keep going.”
While Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri recently said he thought Hazard could score 40 goals for the club this season, the former Lille player says he does not have goal targets.
He added: “My target is to win something every year, I want to win trophies.
“We won the FA Cup last year. We knew the Premier League is going to be hard because (Manchester) City, Liverpool, they have a lot of good players and good teams. So we will give everything.
“It is not important how many goals I score. You know me, I don’t care about that. I just want to enjoy my football and win games.”
Having inflicted their first defeat of the season, Chelsea will now look to halt table-topping Liverpool’s winning start in the league on Saturday when the two clubs meet again at Stamford Bridge.
Hazard said: “The cup game was important for Saturday I think. After the draw against West Ham (last Sunday) we are back on top, we won against one of the best in the world at the moment, so Saturday we are going to be ready for the game.”