Zinedine Zidane speaks up Real Madrid interest in Eden Hazard, compares him to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

'I enjoy everything Hazard does on the pitch,' Real coach said

Chelsea winger Eden Hazard (GETTY IMAGES)

Zinedine Zidane has sparked rumours that Real Madrid will make an offer for Eden Hazard, after admitting that he likes the Chelsea winger more than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

The France great is now a coach at Real and his appraisal of Hazard as one of the three best players in the world, with room for improvement, could be seen as the start of the Spanish giants' courtship of the Belgian.

Hazard, who is under contract at Chelsea until 2021, has spoken of Zidane as his hero and the respect appears to be mutual.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho recently said every player has a price, but has no intention of selling a player who is favourite for Sunday's PFA Player of the Year award.

"There are players I keep an eye on and who I like a lot, like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, of course," Zidane told fifa.com.

"They're fantastic players, but I like Eden Hazard a lot too. I enjoy everything he does on the pitch.

"I like the way he carries himself, that decisive streak in him and the fact that he's improving every year.

"He can still get better too, and I think he's a big reason why Chelsea are on top of the table."

Real coach Zinedine Zidane (Getty Images)

Hazard, who joined Chelsea in 2012 from Lille for £32million, scored his 18th goal of the season in last Saturday's defeat of Manchester United.

A win at Arsenal on Sunday means Chelsea could secure the Premier League title the following Wednesday at Leicester.

Additional reporting by PA