Only Messi and Ronaldo were once better than Hazard claims Burnley manager Vincent Kompany

Eden Hazard recently announced his retirement from football after many years of nursing several injuries.

The Belgian international had a spectacular spell at Chelsea before moving to Real Madrid where he found it had to stay fit.

His fellow countryman has said that during Hazard’s Chelsea days, only Ronaldo and Messi were better than him.

According to reports from Tribal Football, Eden Hazard, a former teammate of Vincent Kompany's at Burnley, has received praise from the manager.

Kompany said, "For me, at a certain point, and he knows it, he was a player who was just below Ronaldo and Messi in terms of level.

"He had a great career, also for Belgium. We didn't expect to have players at that level, but we had one of the magicians of the game."

The Burnley manager has said that Hazard was a magician in his prime and was just below Ronaldo and Messi.

The Belgian played a total of 352 games, scored 110 goals and provided 92 assists during his Chelsea days.

However, after moving from Chelsea to Real Madrid, he struggled to hit the ground running and only managed 76 appearances, scored seven goals and provided 12 assists.