Known is the fanaticism of Eden Hazard by Juan roman riquelme and this Monday in the preview of the Ballon d’Or ceremony once again gave a sample of his love affair with the current vice president of Boca Juniors and one of the club’s greatest idols. The Belgian, now a former footballer, referred to the final of the Copa Libertadores de América that will be played this Saturday in which the team xeneize will be measured against Fluminense in the mythical Maracana Stadium.
“I don’t follow Argentine football much because the time is different. At that moment I have other things to do instead of watching football,” said the former striker in conversation with ESPN. Furthermore, he revealed: “I am a very fan of Juan Román. People know it and he is one of my idols. I spoke with him via message recently and he is a pleasure.”.
At the same time, he made it clear who he will support in the final of the top South American club tournament: “I am going to support Boca Juniors.” Then he was asked if he would greet Riquelme if Boca Juniors were champions and he said “I don’t know.” Finally, if Román were to call him to play in the Xeneizewas blunt: “No.”
It was in 2019 when Hazard posted a story on his profile Instagram in which two photos appeared, one of him doing the Topo Gigio celebrating a goal in Chelsea and another of JRR, the day he immortalized him after converting his penalty goal in the victory in the Superclásico in the 2001 Clausura Tournament. When he found out Román sent him his autographed jacket.
At the time, in a conversation with Belgian radio-television (RTBF), Hazard praised Riquelme: “Of the players I never met, I would choose Riquelme. I watched all the videos of him when he was younger. I would like to meet him in a field or just talk to him. He would be great!”
But Eden also published a photo as a child in which he is seen with the blue and gold jacket from 1996, which began to be used in the Clausura Tournament of that year and that, among others, that model was worn by Diego Armando Maradona, Claudio Paul Caniggia and Juan Sebastián Verón in that first semester.
Hazard was one of the special guests at the gala taking place in Paris where recognition is given to the best footballers between August 1, 2022 and July 31, 2023. The former Belgian star had his peak performance at the international level during he World Cup Russia 2018 in which his team finished third and eliminated Brazil in the quarterfinals.
Eden announced his retirement from professional football on October 10 and at the age of 32, one of the best players in the world in the last decade decided to hang up his boots after a 15-season campaign in which he played for three clubs, the Lillehe Chelsea and the Real Madridwith which he won the Champions League, the Club World Cup and the European Super Cup in 2022.
For his part, in the announcement of his farewell as a professional he explained: “After 16 years of career and more than 700 games played, I decided to end my career as a professional footballer. I was able to make my dream come true, play and have fun on the fields of Europe and the world”.
The post first appeared on www.infobae.com