Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta has named former Chelsea star Eden Hazard as the toughest opponent he has ever faced.

Both players played against each other while they were in France before they both swapped the French league for Chelsea.

Azpilicueta told The Athletic: “The hardest opponent I have faced was Eden Hazard.

“Obviously there were many in other teams, but I will always say training every day with Eden was something that gave me a good taste of the Premier League.

“To face the best player in the Premier League, always one against one — I could take that experience into the games.

“I was ready to face anyone after facing Eden every day.”

Azpilicueta continued: “The way he turned… he could get the ball and turn so quickly.

“He could shoot with his right and left foot. He was strong, too. Even if you wanted to kick him sometimes, you couldn’t put him down. It was quite impressive!

“There were occasions I would get the better of him but, to be fair, sometimes he was a bit lazy in training. But when he wanted to be on it, he was very hard to stop.”