‘He would sit there eating rice pudding – now he’s lost a lot of weight’: John Obi Mikel recalls Eden Hazard’s diet issues at Chelsea… and says he’s ‘the LAZIEST footballer I’ve ever seen’!
Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has shone a light on his time at Stamford Bridge and given a rare insight into the training habits of ex-Blues star Eden Hazard.
Mikel and Hazard shared five trophy-laden years together at Stamford Bridge working under Jose Mourinho, Rafael Benitez, Guus Hiddink, and Antonio Conte with both leaving the club in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
However, Mikel has revealed that despite being a match-winner on the pitch, his Belgian team-mate was the ‘laziest footballer he has seen in his life’ but admitted he got away with it due to his standout performances on matchday.
‘Everybody wants to be in the starting XI come the weekend and there is no place for you to be like “I don’t want to train today”. The only player I saw do that and get away with it was Eden Hazard,’ Mikel told Dubai Eye.
‘He never trained. The worst. The laziest footballer I have ever seen in my life. But then come the weekend he produces and was man of the match. He comes in then and was like “come on guys you see”.
John Obi Mikel (left) opens up on the training habits of Eden Hazard (right) during their time at Chelsea
Mikel labelled Hazard (pictured) as the ‘laziest trainer he had seen’ but admitted the Belgian was allowed to ‘do what he wants’ given his stellar performances
Mikel defended Hazard for losing ‘a lot of weight’ but explained the Belgian star ‘likes his food’
Hazard starred during seven years at the Premier League giants, lifting two Premier League titles, two Europa Leagues, an FA Cup, and a League cup, before departing for Real Madrid in 2019.
However, his time in the Spanish capital has been testing to say the least, with Hazard frequently injured, struggling to find form, and being criticised for putting on weight.
Hazard was even questioned on his weight fluctuation at the Qatar World Cup with Belgium, but has been defended by Mikel for trimming down.
But the now retired Nigerian did explain how Hazard ‘likes his food’ and would often sit down to eat a rice pudding the night before a match as he was allowed to ‘do whatever he wants’ during his time at Chelsea.
‘I actually think when you look at him now he has lost a lot of weight,’ said Mikel.
Hazard (left) has endured a torrid time since leaving Chelsea to join Real Madrid in 2019
Hazard has at times been fat-shamed during his time in Madrid and has been criticised for putting on the pounds while out-of-action
Mikel (left) played alongside Hazard (right) at Chelsea between 2012 and 2017
‘But when he was at Chelsea the night before a game after dinner, he sits there for like 20 minutes, half an hour, eating rice pudding. He likes his food.
‘Then he goes to bed, wakes up on a Saturday morning and is there, he produces. We just let him do whatever he wants,’ he added.
Hazard’s Real Madrid injury nightmare was deal another devastating blow in a recent training session that saw him pick up a knee injury that has ruled him out of upcoming games.
The latest set-back is Hazard’s 18th injury since moving to Madrid where he has completed 90 minutes on just six occasions since the 2019-20 season and missing 76 games for the Spanish giants in the process.
HAZARD’S INJURY NIGHTMARES
Patella tendon irritation: Feb 4, 2023 – Unknown (ongoing)
Ankle injury: Jan 21, 2023 – Jan 28, 2023 (seven days)
Fissure of the fibula: Mar 25, 2022 – May 14, 2022 (50 days)
Abdominal Influenza: Nov 19, 2021 – Nov 30, 2021 (11 days)
Muscular problems: Oct 8, 2021 – Oct 22, 2021 (14 days)
Hamstring injury: Jun 28, 2021-Aug 12, 2021 (45 days)
Knock: May 21, 2021 – May 23, 2021 (two days)
Muscle Injury: Mar 15, 2021 – Apr 22, 2021 (38 days)
Muscle Injury: Feb 3, 2021 – Mar 12, 2021 (37 days)
Muscle Injury: Nov 28, 2020 – Dec 28, 2020 (30 days)
Coronavirus: Nov 7, 2020 – Nov 20, 2020 (13 days)
Muscle Injury: Sep 30, 2020 – Oct 27, 2020 (27 days)
Knock: Sep 1, 2020 – Sep 28, 2020 (27 days)
Knock: Jun 29, 2020 – Jul 9, 2020 (10 days)
Fissure of the fibula: Feb 23, 2020 – May 9, 2020 (76 days)
Hairline crack in the foot: Dec 5, 2019 – Feb 10, 2020 (67 days)
Bruised Ankle: Nov 27, 2019 – Dec 5, 2019 (eight days)
Hamstring Injury: Aug 16, 2019 – Sep 10, 2019 (25 days)
