Gareth Bale has lifted the lid on the legendary laziness of Eden Hazard, claiming that even Chelsea’s most loyal stars would have to agree the Belgian was the worst trainer they ever shared a pitch with.
Joining as the Champions League winner’s marquee signing in 2012, Eden Hazard became a hero at Stamford Bridge. Across 352 appearances, he netted 110 goals and provided 92 assists, spearheading a golden era that yielded two Premier League titles, two Europa Leagues, an FA Cup, and a League Cup.
Hazard was the ultimate big-game player, famously ending Tottenham’s title hopes in 2016 and bowing out with a masterclass in the 2019 Europa League final.
While Eden Hazard remains one of the greatest to ever wear a Chelsea shirt, the contrast between his training habits and those of Luka Modric or Cristiano Ronaldo was huge.
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Gareth Bale picks Eden Hazard as the worst trainer ever
Eden Hazard being crowned as the worst trainer during his playing career is nothing new, as many other players have come out and said it.
Gareth Bale is the latest to add to the topic around Eden Hazard, speaking on The Overlap’s Stick To Football podcast.
“The Chelsea boys will say [the same]. I was similar. I didn’t love training. I would tick over in training but I wanted to be ready for the game.”
Bale himself was a self-confessed bad trainer and he didn’t do too badly during his football career.
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Chelsea paid £60m last summer.
Jose Mourinho has given his view on Eden Hazard’s training habits
“The truth is what you see from him, he is an amazing player with awful training,” Mourinho charged during an interview on talkSPORT.
“You can only imagine what he could be with a super professional attitude in training.
“In the end, he is an amazing kid, he is an incredible family man, he looks like he doesn’t belong to this generation of players, he’s very quiet and is totally focused on family, on kids, on parents, on a very quiet life.
“But he gets onto the pitch every morning and … he doesn’t work much.
“When he gets onto the pitch you don’t see the reflection of a week of work, you just see a reflection of his talent.
“He is this amazing player and you can imagine if he was a top professional. When he went to Real Madrid I thought, ‘Wow, this guy is going to the biggest club in the world and is going to feel this huge pressure to be always at the top, this guy is going to win the Golden Ball, because he is amazing.”
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