TheCable

John Obi Mikel, former Super Eagles midfielder, says Eden Hazard, his former teammate at Chelsea FC, “is the laziest player I have ever played alongside”.

The Belgian captain, who played alongside Mikel for five years at the Stamford Bridge, has been criticised by the ex-Eagles leader for his lethargic attitude in training during their time together.

Hazard was the leading light in Chelsea during most of his time at the club.

The former Chelsea defensive midfielder, however, maintained that Hazard was “an incredible talent”, having won the Premier League title in 2015 and the Europa League together.

“The laziest player I have played alongside is Eden Hazard,” Mikel told beIN Sports in Turkey.

“Hazard has an incredible talent, maybe not as good as [Lionel] Messi, but he can do whatever he wants with the ball at his feet.

“He didn’t like to train hard. While we were working he was waiting for us to finish training just standing there. But on Sundays he was always man of the match, it was unbelievable.”

Hazard joined Real Madrid in the summer. He played in 11 games across the LaLiga Santander and Champions League, scoring one goal and providing four assists.

When asked “who the hardest working player he’s played alongside with”, he said “Frank Lampard,” Chelsea’s current coach, with no hesitation whatsoever.