‘Greatest dribblers’ – Eden Hazard names forgotten Chelsea star alongside Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lamine Yamal

Wait 5 sec.

Eden Hazard says Hatem Ben Arfa and Gael Kakuta are the greatest dribblers he has ever witnessed on a football pitch.The former Chelsea and Real Madrid winger was one of the very best on the ball in his own right as he dazzled fans and baffled defenders. Hazard, one of football’s most talented players, has named his top two dribblersGettyHazard was widely considered to be one of the world’s best dribblers throughout the peak of his career from 2013 to 2019.Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo joined him in the upper echelons, with Ronaldinho and Zinedine Zidane also mesmerisers of the past.Speaking to SO FOOT, Hazard waxed lyrical about some of the all-time masters of dribbling, beginning with a French superstar.“He did things on the pitch, only he could do that,” he said of Zidane, who was his idol growing up.Ronaldinho, Willian and Neymar are also mentioned, as well as left-back Marcelo, who ‘always’ had ball with him in the changing room.Arjen Robben, Riyad Mahrez and Javier Pastore join Messi, as well as Ronaldo during his first stint at Manchester United.“How beautiful it was when he started dribbling, tackling, passing legs,” Hazard said, before declaring his top two dribbling talents.“Hatem Ben Arfa and Gael Kakuta are the two greatest dribblers I have seen play.“They may not have always made the right career choices, there are certainly regrets somewhere.“We can’t rewrite history, but for me, they are players who made me dream.”Messi and Ronaldo are two icons, but didn’t reach the summit for HazardGettyBen Arfa is arguably one of the Premier League’s most gifted players everGettyKakuta arrived at Chelsea as a teenager and with huge promiseGETTYWhat happened to Hatem Ben Arfa?Having broken through at Lyon, a move to Marseille would see Ben Arfa become one of the most talented young players in football.He earned a move to Newcastle United in 2010 and dribbled past Premier League defences with apparent ease.Former Magpies boss Alan Pardew told talkSPORT that Ben Arfa had ‘unbelievable talent’, although injuries impacted his Toon tenure.After a short loan spell at Hull City, he was released by Newcastle and returned to France, this time with Nice.Paris Saint-Germain, Rennes, Real Valladolid and Bordeaux were also later destinations, although they couldn’t reignite his talent.Ben Arfa last played for Lille, who he left in 2022, making just nine appearances.Injury issues meant Ben Arfa saw a decline in his quality of dribblingGettyWhat happened to Gael Kakuta?Chelsea signed the young, exciting French winger in 2007 from Lens, but they both landed in hot water with FIFA over the move.Kakuta was handed a four-month ban and fined around £680,000 as he breached his contract at Lens to move to the Blues.Chelsea themselves were banned from signing new players for two transfer windows having induced the player to break his deal.He made just 16 senior appearances for the club and had loan spells at sides including Fulham and Bolton Wanderers before his 2015 exit.Kakuta left west London for Sevilla, with a stint at Chinese side Hebei China Fortune following just a year later.He briefly returned to Lens from 2020 to 2022, and is now playing in the Turkish second tier at Sakaryaspor.Kakuta spent nearly a decade at Chelsea but couldn’t reach stardom levelsGettyHaving analysed the dribblers of the past, Hazard also told SO FOOT: “There aren’t many great dribblers left.” However, Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku, Desire Doue and Lamine Yamal were all mentioned as the latest crop of young dribbling prospects.