I played with Luka Modric, Karim Benzema and Kevin De Bruyne, but the surprising Chelsea star who rarely played left me stunned.

Eden Hazard mentioned an unexpected former Chelsea player when asked to choose the most “talented” footballer he has played with.

The 33-year-old announced his retirement from football last October, leaving behind an incredible career in which he played with some of the greatest stars football has ever seen.

Kevin De Bruyne, Luka modric and Karim Benzema are just some of the big-name stars Hazard played with during his time with Chelsea, real Madrid, Lille and Belgium.

But it turns out that one surprise former Blues player takes the crown over all those iconic former teammates: Gael Kakuta.

When asked who he thinks is the most talented player he has played with, he said: “I think, because at Real Madrid I played for the best player in the world, for me, Modric, Benzema, they are at the top of the list, you know.

“When you say Kevin De Bruyne, he tops the list. When you say Lampard, he tops the list. Juan kill For me, he's at the top of the list.”

He continued: “But I'm going to give you one name, and John knows the player. The only one where I said 'wow' when I started playing for a young team in France. It was Gael Kakuta“.

Explaining the reasoning behind picking the former Chelsea winger, Hazard said: “You asked me about talent. Talent, Kakuta, by far the number 1. Talent, I mean talent, wow.”

“It was very good, very good,” said Mikel, agreeing with his former teammate. “I think for some reason he didn't get the chance at Chelsea.”

Hazard continued: “You know I played against him a lot because I used to play for Lille, he played for Lens. In the north of France that is a derby.

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“Being me, we used to win every match, 5-0, 6-0, and I was the best player ever. Then we play him, we're losing the match! He's the best player? What? ! That's not normal”.

Kakuta, now 32, joined Chelsea's academy from Lens in 2007. He won the Academy Scholar of the Year award in his first season and was also named Academy Player of the Year after finishing top scorer. of the youth team with 12 goals in 24 appearances.

A double ankle fracture in a friendly against Glenn Hoddle The Academy slowed his progress towards the first team, but after six months out, he returned and soon made his Premier League debut.

He also became the youngest Chelsea player to represent the club in the Champions League under carlo anceloti and even earned a Golden Boy nomination in 2010.

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Despite signing a contract extension until 2015 that year, Kakuta spent most of the rest of his time at Chelsea on loan, first with Fulham and Bolton before playing elsewhere in Europe.

At the age of 23 in 2015, he moved permanently to Seville having played 16 times for the Blues and recorded one assist.

Hazard clarified why it didn't work out for Kakuta at Chelsea: “It's easy to say now, but I think he went to Chelsea too early. I think he was 16. That step at 16 is a big step.” “.

Kakuta now plays for Ligue 2 side Amiens and has scored four goals and registered one assist in 16 appearances this season. He also played for Congo in the African Cup of Nations on their way to the semi-finals.