Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City and Belgium’s creator-in-chief, has spent enough time at the pinnacle of the beautiful game to understand what distinguishes the elite from the rest, and when asked to name the most iconic Belgian player of all time, he chose Eden Hazard.
Formerly of Chelsea and Real Madrid, the small winger stunned defenders around Europe on a weekly basis after rising through the ranks of French club Lille.
Eden [Hazard] is the clear choice for me. He’s very good. In terms of talent, I believe he ranks among the top five in the world.
De Bruyne, widely considered as one of the finest midfielders in the world right now, did not stop there, instead naming a triad of stars he believes are superior to his fellow countryman.
Lionel Messi
Nobody wins a gold medal for predicting this. Lionel Messi, who has won an unprecedented eight Ballon d’Or awards, embodies everything joyful about football, and De Bruyne has been on the receiving end of the Argentine’s brilliance on multiple occasions.
In reality, the two modern football icons have faced off four times between 2014 and 2022, with De Bruyne, 33, winning only once. Messi led his country to a 1-0 victory in the 2014 World Cup after facing up for the first time.
Domestically, the Belgian has seen a similar run of poor luck. Barcelona trounced Manchester City 4-0 in 2016/17 before the latter won the rematch. Messi’s Paris-Saint Germain defeated Guardiola’s side 2-0 in 2021/22.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Fans and commentators alike acknowledge Cristiano Ronaldo’s limitless talent, as does the former Chelsea youth prospect. De Bruyne, who is currently in the final stages of his career at Al-Nassr, faced him three times while in Europe.
In the 2015/16 Champions League semi-final, the attacking midfielder faced a Ronaldo-led Real Madrid and was defeated 1-0. Six years later, the six-time Premier League champion evened the score with a 2-0 victory.
De Bruyne’s Belgium and Ronaldo’s Portugal also faced off at Euro 2020, signalling the conclusion of the latter’s campaign. De Bruyne played a key role in his country’s 1-0 victory, and he is one of the few players in the world with a winning record against one of football’s best wingers.
Neymar
Neymar, the most obvious victim of Ronaldo and Messi’s dominance at the top of the game, was also mentioned by 33-year-old De Bruyne as a player better than Hazard. He and the Brazilian met six times in person.
First, in 2016/17, Neymar led the team to a 4-0 victory before De Bruyne took over and won all four of their subsequent matches. The final meeting between the two took place in 2021/22, with Neymar’s PSG winning 2-0.
Their only meeting on the international stage was in the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup, when De Bruyne, who played in a less-than-familiar false nine role, scored to eliminate Selecao Canarinho, leaving Neymar disappointed.
