Eden Hazard, who signed a new deal with Chelsea is now, alongside Cest Fabregas, the highest paid player in the team. But the most fouled player and top dribbler in the Premier League is still ‘just’ the 7th best player in the English top flight.
The Belgium midfielder has signed a new £200,000-per-week contract at Chelsea, keeping him tied to Stamford Bridge until 2020.
”Probably the best young player in the world”, as labelled by Jose Mourinho, has continued his excellent form this season. He has scored 9 goals and netted 5 assists in 36 appearances for the league leaders.
The 24-year old has really shone on the field during this campaign and his stats are really impressive. Opta-powered fantasy football game Oulala.com reveals he is the league leader in four different categories.
He is the most fouled player in the Premier League with 74 fouls suffered. Liverpool star Raheem Sterling, who once named him as the best opponent he has ever faced, has been fouled 60 times and currently holds the second spot ahead of Everton striker Steven Naismith (52). On top of that, he is third most fouled player among all footballers within the top five European leagues, the English Premier League, the Spanish La Liga, the German Bundesliga, the Italian Serie A and the French Ligue 1. The only two players currently outperforming him this season are Chievo’s Perparim Hetemaj (87) and his new team-mate Juan Cuadrado (89).
Hazard also sits on top of the most duels won (215), beating the likes of Leroy Fer (60) of Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace’s Joel Ward (52).
Better than Messi
The winger – who joined Chelsea from Lille in 2012 – is by far the most prolific dribbler in the league, making 111 successful dribbles – 34 more than Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Moreover, Hazard doesn’t only dominate in England in this statistical category as a close look at the stats reveal he is No. 1 in Europe and therefore better than Bayer’s Karim Bellarabi (99) and even almighty Lionel Messi (97).
The Belgian has also proved himself as a good team player, making 62 assists for shots to his team-mates.
Having said that, a new, financially better deal is not a surprise, considering the fact the club’s Player of the Year is one of the best players in Jose Mourinho’s side. However, the new salary package puts him only on the 7th place of the highest paid players in the league. The question is, has he been worth all of that money or other players are just overpaid?
TOP TEN HIGHEST PAID PLAYERS IN PREMIER LEAGUE (ESTIMATED VALUES):
1. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) – £300,000 per week
2. Angel di Maria (Man United) – £280,000 per week
3. Radamel Falcao (Man United) – £265,000 per week
4. Robin Van Persie (Man United – £250,000 per week
5. Yaya Toure (Man City) – £240,000 per week
6. Sergio Aguero (Man City) – £220.000 per week
7. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) – £200,000 per week
7. Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea) – £200,000 per week
9. Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) – £180,000 per week
10. John Terry (Chelsea) – £175,000 per week
