Antonio Rudiger believes only Lionel Messi is better than Chelsea team-mate Eden Hazard in world football.
Hazard has been Chelsea s star man since arriving from Lille in 2012, but he has failed to challenge dominant duo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the Ballon d Or.
However, despite Ronaldo s current monopolisation of the award, Germany s Rudiger ranks Messi as the world s best and claims Hazard is his nearest challenger.
Asked about the task of handling France forward Kylian Mbappe in the Nations League, Rudiger replied: Mbappe is unbelievably fast, really good. To stop him, you have to do it as a team, because alone good luck!
But for me, the best in the world is Messi, then Hazard.
And the Chelsea defender credits Hazard s strong start to the season and quick recovery from World Cup duty with a key role in Maurizio Sarri s 100 per cent Premier League record after four matches.
To be honest, I m surprised how well we ve done because players like Eden Hazard and N Golo Kante had big World Cups and came back late for training, he said. They are in good shape and that s impressive.
26 Eden Hazard has been directly involved in 26 goals in his last 26 matches for Belgium in all competitions (13 goals, 13 assists). Symmetry.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
Rudiger is enjoying his football, too, preferring Sarri s style to that of predecessor Antonio Conte.
I played for Roma in Italy, so I knew the way the manager liked to play and it was something I favoured, he said. He wants us to press high, compared to last season when everyone knows we sat back.
Now it is different. We create a lot of chances and, for me, that s very good. Mostly, he likes the defenders to play the ball short and keep possession. I have shown so far I can do it but I want to improve every day.
He is a coach who is not happy, he is always saying you can do better, and that keeps you alive.
