Micah Richards makes baffling decision in Mohamed Salah vs Eden Hazard debate

Former Manchester City defender turned pundit Micah Richards reckons ex-Chelsea winger Eden Hazard was a "better all-round player" than Mohamed Salah .

There's no doubt about it, during his Chelsea days, Hazard was one of the best in the world. The Belgian helped Chelsea to two Premier League titles and was arguably the best player in both teams. However, following his move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2019, Hazard's form dropped off.

Injuries hampered him during his time in the Spanish capital, with the winger retiring in October 2023. Conversely, Salah still remains at the peak of his powers. The Egyptian has scored six goals in nine games so far this season under Arne Slot, with Salah having helped guide Liverpool to the top of the Premier League.

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While both Salah and Hazard are Premier League greats, football fans and pundits always love a debate around which player is better. And recently, former City star Richards admitted he believes the former Chelsea man was "a better all-around player" than Salah.

Speaking on Gary Lineker's 'The Rest Is Football ' podcast, Richards compared the two. He said: "I think Hazard’s probably a better all-round player, I would say. But Salah’s a bit more devastating, you know, with his numbers and yeah, he’s a bit more prolific I would say and yeah, they are a little bit different."

In fairness to Richards, they are both different players. Salah is much more of a goal threat than Hazard was and statistics do help the former in an argument between which is better.

During Salah's time as a Premier League player, he has scored 161 goals in 269 appearances, a frankly astonishing number that puts him 10th on the list of all-time top scorers. Conversely, Hazard scored 85 goals in 245 appearances.

Salah will in all-likelihood climb up the all-time top scorers list too this term. He is one goal behind Jermaine Defoe, and two behind Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler. Thierry Henry is seventh on the list with 175 goals, meaning Salah would need to score 15 more times this season to pass the Arsenal legend.

Liverpool.com says: "This is a tough one honestly because Hazard at the peak of his powers is probably on a par with Salah despite his numbers being much worse than the Liverpool star. The Belgian was arguably the best player in two title winning Chelsea sides. We'd give the edge slightly to Salah for his longevity and consistency for the Reds over the years - but honestly, it is close.

"What might settle the debate however is the fact Hazard himself r eckons Salah is a better player than him ."