Juan Mata was a Chelsea player between 2011 and 2014 and it didn’t take him long to win the hearts of the Chelsea supporters.
Mata was sold by Jose Mourinho in 2014 to Manchester United for a fee of £37.1m, and after six years at Old Trafford, Mata has looked back at his time at Stamford Bridge to pick the best player he has ever played with.
Mata played with Eden Hazard for 18 months at Chelsea, and when asked who he thinks the greatest player in the history of the Premier League was, Mata selected Hazard.
“The best Premier League player… I mean, I used to love to play with, and against, Eden Hazard,” Mata told United’s website during a Q&A.
“For me, for many years, he was the best in the league. He could win games by himself. I used to train with him and I know how good he can be.
“He has been very unlucky in his time with Real Madrid with some injuries, but I’m sure he’ll show his real level when he’s fit to do that and he’s not injured.
“Other than him, we’ve had many players. You can speak about the history of the Premier League and you can maybe put some of my ex-team-mates like Wayne Rooney – he has to be up there. “Ryan Giggs has to be up there, and Paul Scholes. My ex-team-mates from Chelsea: [Frank] Lampard, [John] Terry, [Didier] Drogba. It’s very difficult to pick one.”