Eden Hazard, Neymar Jr., and Paul Pogba - The Struggle to Fulfill Football's Great Promise.

In world Football there has always been a good group of players and then there are those who always stick out and for me as a football fan, in the past 10 years apart from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo there was a time in world football where there was debate and speculation could we ever replace those 2 giants, the answer was no but at the time there were 3 players that stuck out. Three players that were young, promising, and among the most talented that the footballing world had ever seen.

The three players were Paul Pogba of France, Neymar Jr. of the great Jogo bonito , and Belgium's own Eden Hazard. These 3 players all at one time in their career had the world at their feet. Pogba who shined as a young midfielder in Juventus, Neymar who was hailed to be Lionel Messi's successor at Barcelona, and Eden Hazard who glid across the pitch according to legendary English defender Rio Ferdinand.

Paul Pogba while at Juventus was one of the most flashy midfielders in European football, he would score world class goals, and would show why he was one of the best young promising talents in world football at the time. Paul showcased this by taking Juve to the Champions League Final in 2015 and climbing all the way up to the Ballon D'Or rankings as a 22 year old, back in 2015. Paul started his career at United then left to Juventus, and then in 2016 he would return to Manchester United for a fee of 105M Euros, and the return to Old Trafford was not the return the superstar had dreamed of, moving from Juventus to Manchester United put water on the fire that Pogba's career was becoming.

Neymar Jr., the heir to the Catalan throne, Neymar coming from Santos made his way all the way to the beaches of Barcelona. He showed all of us that watched that he was worth every cent that Barcelona paid santos for him. Neymar was the most talented player the world had seen in years and in time he would become the best player in the world, in a time where it seemed impossible with the dominance from Messi and Ronaldo in that era. Well, Neymar defied the odds. During Neymar's four years at Barca, he was directly involved in 164 goals in 186 appearances 105 goals, 59 assists in total, and in his final season in Spain, Neymar was the only player in Europe's top five leagues to record 20 or more for both goals (20) and assists (21) in all competitions, he ended the season with 20 goals and 20 assists. Neymar would later become disillusioned with Barcelona as he would end up going for a world record fee 222M Euros, a record that still stands today, Neymar had everything in Barcelona, great record, great teammates, even better friends, amazing chances to win the Champions League more than once, and even the Ballon D'Or. Neymar would move to the french capital and his career would take a steep downfall. Despite winning Ligue 1 trophies and arguably being an even better player than he was Neymar's career became riddled with injuries and it became clearer that leaving Barcelona was a huge error in Neymar's career. The Brazilian prince who never became the Catalan king.

When Eden Hazard arrived at Chelsea and he was welcomed with wide arms, Eden Hazard went from being a not well known player to arguably the best player in the world in atime where it seemed impossible with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Eden was untouchable on the pitch during his time at Chelsea, just gliding across the pitch, scoring goals and assisting and just showing everyone what he was capable of. During Eden's time at Chelsea he brought two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, a Football League Cup, and two UEFA Europa League titles. Eden would glide across the pitch. Hazard is arguably the greatest player to ever play in the premier league, the flair he had and the way he played was just amazing. In hazards final season he had 21 goals and 17 assists leading Chelsea to a Europa League title and during this time, Barcelona and Real Madrid were in for him and it was widely known that he needed to go to one of the 2 because at this time these 2 were the biggest club in the world. When Eden Hazard left Chelsea, he left a trail of memories and magic, his brilliance forever etched in the hearts of the Blues, as they bid farewell to a true legend and wished him success in his new journey.

When these 3 players left these clubs it was not good for their careers, Pogba wasn't treated fairly on and off the pitch in Manchester, Neymar didn't stay healthy at the most important times, and Eden Hazard was a shadow of his former self and never stayed healthy for Real Madrid, the thing is the grass wasn't greener on the other side like these players thought it was. They were in great situations before they made the move and when they made these moves they ruined their career, Neymar in particular, Neymar could have won everything in Barcelona but he wanted to be the star of the show and he saw that in Paris he could have had that. He had a better chance in Barcelona to win the Ballon D'Or. The thing is these players saw an opportunity and it didn't work out. Amidst the ebb and flow of football's ever-changing tides, the departures of Eden Hazard, Neymar Jr., and Paul Pogba marked the end of eras, leaving a bittersweet legacy of brilliance that will forever echo in the hearts of their former clubs' faithful.