Thierry Henry makes Eden Hazard feelings clear as Arsenal legend gives honest Chelsea verdict

Thierry Henry has named Eden Hazard a player he'd 'pay to watch', heaping great praise on the Chelsea legend. The former Blues winger established himself as one of the most exciting players in Europe during a seven-year spell at Stamford Bridge before joining Real Madrid in a deal that could have exceeded £150m.

Unfortunately for Hazard, he couldn't rediscover the form he enjoyed in west London after suffering numerous injuries. The 33-year-old featured 76 times for Los Blancos across all competitions, scoring seven goals and providing 12 assists.

After his fourth season at the Santiago Bernabeu, where he played just 10 times, Real Madrid terminated his contract a year ahead of schedule. Despite reportedly receiving offers from as many as six different clubs after leaving Real Madrid, Hazard decided to hang up his boots.

The Belgian has since appeared in charity matches, such as Soccer Aid. Nevertheless, speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football show for Bournemouth's 1-1 draw with West Ham on Monday evening, Henry and Jamie Carragher were quizzed on the Premier League's greatest ever forwards.

The Arsenal legend, who worked closely with Hazard while working as the Belgian assistant head coach, said: "For me, you have players that get the ball in certain situations, and they will execute what they need to execute.

"This guy [Eden Hazard] was bailing you out of anywhere, in any situation, in any position. The amount of solo goals that he scored; left foot, right foot, anything, swivelling on people – it’s a different ball game for me. This is the type of guy that I’d pay to watch."

On Hazard's time at Real Madrid, Henry added: "At the end of the day, Eden [Hazard] is a lover of the game…he doesn’t want any aggro, he doesn’t want any trouble, he just wants to go onto the field and play and then enjoy his family and enjoy his holiday.

"And then, ‘let me go on the field and play, if I’m not good enough bye, bye, I’m going to go’, and that’s what he did. I worked with him, and what he could do sometimes in some situations – wow.

"Sometimes, with the national team – and the boss [Roberto Martinez] had some great tactics…the amount of times you just give the ball to Eden and he just sorted it out is just frightening."

This isn't the first time that Henry has given Hazard his flowers. Speaking on Sky Sports in March earlier this year, the Frenchman described the former Chelsea star as a 'joy to watch'.

"One of the most that I admired in this league, Eden Hazard was just a joke," said Henry. "He can take the ball from his house and just arrive at the Bridge and score, running past everybody. Tactics have nothing to do with that. He was a joy to watch."

Henry had also previously backed Hazard to win the Ballon d'Or. Speaking to reporters ahead of the ceremony in 2018, he insisted that the award must be won be either a Frenchman in Didier Deschamps' side, who won the World Cup earlier that year, or the former Chelsea star.

"The best player of the World Cup for me was Eden Hazard, by far," said Henry, as quoted by L'Equipe. "Afterwards, the French team wins the World Cup. In general, we always pick from the team that wins the World Cup. I think it would be unacceptable if it's not a French player or Eden Hazard, quite simply."

The Arsenal hero added: "Logic would dictate that it should be a Frenchman. Let's be chauvinistic, maybe it doesn't matter who wins, if it's a Frenchman who wins, it will be good for French football."

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