Zinedine Zidane admits Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are great, but he prefers a Chelsea star

Zizou has revealed he's a huge fan of a certain Chelsea midfielder.

The Real Madrid legend, who's currently coaching Los Blancos' reserve team has been singing the praises of Eden Hazard.

The Real Madrid couldn't speak more highly of Hazard, and even hinted that the Belgian playmaker was up there with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

He even went as far to say that although he admired the genius of the Messi and Ronaldo, he actually preferred what Hazard does on the pitch.

"Obviously, there is Lionel Messi and Ronaldo, both of whom are spectacular, but I like Eden Hazard more." "There is still scope for further progress, and if Chelsea are to win the league this season, Eden will have had a lot to do with it." "There is still scope for further progress, and if Chelsea are to win the league this season, Eden will have had a lot to do with it."

Tin foil hats at the ready, we've got a conspiracy theory. Zidane reckoning that Hazard has the potential to improve even further has gotten us thinking. Perhaps he is insinuating that Hazard would flourish in the right environment. Perhaps at the Bernabeu? Perhaps we've overused the word perhaps and now it has lost all meaning. Hat-tip to the Daily Mail