SARRI WANTS HAZARD TO SWEAT OVER BEING BEST IN WORLD

MAURIZIO SARRI has ordered Eden Hazard to train harder if he wants to be the best in the world as he is nowhere near as good as he can be.

The Chelsea boss rates Hazard a “unique genius” but feels he plays at as little as “70 per cent of his potential”.

And he must increase his workload to catch the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. “I think he is for sure one of the best,” said Sarri.

“But I’m absolutely convinced he can improve because I think we’ve seen only 70-80-85 per cent of his potential. I think if he is able to improve, for example with more intensity in training, he will be the best in the world.

“It’s very difficult to compare him with other players. He’s a genius, I think. He’s unique.

“From the physical point of view, from the mental point of view – because I think he has the opportunity to improve more – he can become the best player in the world. He’s a genius.

“Technically, I think, he’s the best. So I want him to be the best in the world.” Sarri is not afraid to shake up Hazard (right) to try to get the best out of him and tried a similar tactic with the squad when questioning whether they had the desire to be successful.

He was also puzzled by the team’s lack of consistency, pointing to how they finished the 2014-15 season with 87 points, but collected only 50 the following campaign, followed that with 93, and 70 last season.

“The numbers of this group are a little bit strange. I need to understand why,” he said.