MADRID: “I’ll try,” Eden Hazard said when asked in the first press conference at Real Madrid if he could be the best player in the world.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are hard to beat but Hazard is placed in third, a position he has after seven years of excellence for Chelsea.

Hazard became an amazing striking talent in the Premier League and at Real Madrid, the higher the demand, the more will be present after this.

He could replace Ronaldo, fill Madrid’s creativity gap, usher in a new era or perhaps win the Ballon d’Or.

“If everything goes well, why not?” said Hazard. “It’s in my head but I don’t think about it every day.”

Nearly two years ago, Hazard felt he was lucky to be able to go through one game without muscle problems let alone play all season.

Real Madrid will face Chelsea in the first round of the Champions League semi-finals early on Wednesday morning and it will certainly be a big surprise if he can start the match against his former club.

Hazard came off the bench against Real Betis last Saturday to play the first 15 minutes of the last three months.

“He played well, with energy,” Zidane said. “We need it.”

Asked about what Real Madrid wanted when signing ‘Galactico’ like Hazard, the club’s president, Florentino Perez said it was a reflection of power and wanted to bring in a better striker or right -back.

“It creates a special kind of glamor,” Perez said. “It lets the whole world know you have world -class players in every position.”

For now, however, Zinedine Zidane’s plans are around Hazard, hoping the team will adjust to him when he is fit.

Yet Hazard has been irrelevant in recent months as Zidane tries to get on with life without him while Perez calculates the cost of the transfer while hoping it is worth it.

Chelsea could be a great place to start.