Chelsea star Eden Hazard reveals how he became a man after seven years in England

Hazard reckons he scores more goals now than when he arrived as a callow 21- year-old from Lille back in the summer of 2012, and is a more experienced, rounded player.

But don’t even try to tell the Belgian star that what looks set to be his last season in a Chelsea shirt has been a good one.

Chelsea’s Belgian superstar may have had some of the best statistics of his Stamford Bridge career this season, may have produced some of his best ever performances in a blue shirt, and scored some of his best goals.

But Hazard does not care about statistics. It will all mean nothing to the 28-year-old if an injury-hit Chelsea lose to Arsenal in far-off Baku tomorrow night in the Europa League final, and end the season with no trophy to show for their troubles.

Hazard has carried Chelsea in this awkward first season under Maurizio Sarri. Too often a misfiring team has looked to their talisman for rescue – and mostly the Belgian captain has provided.

This season, Hazard has equalled his best goal tally for the club – 19, had the most shots in his seven year stint – 116, and equalled the amount that have been on target – 50.

Some of the goals he scored this year, against West Ham and at Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, for instance, have been among the best in the Chelsea career of a player regarded by many as one of their greatest of the modern era.

But Hazard is not happy. He says: “When you play for Chelsea, at the start of the season people think about which trophy we can have at the end of May. So this is the important one.

“We lost the League Cup final – so this is the trophy we can go for. It is a European competition so for me, for the club, for the manager, for the fans, it is something important. You want to bring the trophy home.

“This season has been It has been 50-50. Sometimes happy, sometimes not. But we finished in the top three of the Premier League, reached the League Cup final and now the Europa League final. If we win this trophy the season can still be good.

“Okay – not perfect. Because you want to compete for the League and the FA Cup. But we have improved in the past two months. We have had some injuries, but we are strong mentally and if we go to Baku with a strong approach we can do something good.”

As for himself, he brushes away the stats gurus, saying: “In terms of goals and assists it has been the best, yes. But for me a good season is not whether I scored 40 goals.