Football teams and player comparison debates are the lifeblood of fan interactions and sometimes football players themselves get drawn into it.
The eternal debate on who the better player is between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is one such debate with many players having taken their stance on either side.
One of the more recent ones involves comparisons between Mohamed Salah and Eden Hazard, both of whom have been regarded as among the best to have played in England’s top flight.
Some fans regard the Belgian, who is now retired, as a much more entertaining player with game-winning capabilities while some fans regard the Egyptian as a much more impactful player overall. These two schools of thoughts have formed the basis of the debate on who the better player and the Premier League legend is between the two, and now, Curtis Jones has weighed in.
Jones, who currently plays with Salah in the same Liverpool team and has done so for half a decade, risked the ire of Liverpool fans by stating that Hazard is his preference of the two.
The midfielder was in an interview with Rio Ferdinand in a TNT Sports segment and gave a very personal appraisal of both players.
“I know this might go a little bit left with our fans because the comparison is always there, but Hazard is the one,” he said to Ferdinand. “I know we compare him with Mo all the time and I’ve been into it with Mo.
“I play it from, who I saw as a kid when I loved the game and I wanted to be like a player. I feel like it was Hazard. Every game, I’d watch him, just like, ‘wow, that’s football.’
“Now he’s, I wouldn’t say he’s disrespected, but he wouldn’t come into certain talks that he should.
“It’s a talk I’ve had with Mo and all the lads. As a footballer, is he better than Mo? In my opinion, yes. But who would you rather have in your team? They’re going to say Mo because he gets you your goals and assists.
Ferdinand then added: “I’d pay to go and see Hazard first, but if I’m going to pick a team to win a game, I’m picking Salah,” to which Jones replied: “Yeah, exactly, for sure, it’s as simple as that.”
As the comments began to stir controversy in social media among Liverpool fans, Jones to to his X (formerly Twitter) account to post a picture of himself with Salah, captioning it: “The one I’d rather have in my team.”
