Eden Hazard Paid Tribute To His Idol Juan Román Riquelme Against West Ham

You may be wondering why Eden Hazard cupped his ears after scoring one of the goals of the season last night? Well, it was a celebration dedicated to one of his biggest idols.

Hazard's mesmerising run against West Ham on Monday night happened almost 18 years after the former Boca Juniors midfielder scored against River Plate in La Bombonera.

Who remembers this iconic moment back in 2001? If you know, you know.

Hazard has never been one to hide his admiration for the legendary Argentinian playmaker.

Four years after he "thanked him for everything" on his official Twitter account, the Belgian decided to recreate Riquelme's celebration against West Ham.

The 28-year-old, who has been linked with a move to Real Madrid of late, ran through five players and scored another memorable striker at Stamford Bridge to give Chelsea all three points.

Seconds later, he cupped his ears, just like one of his biggest idols did so often down the years.

Riquelme actually sent Hazard a signed Boca shirt this week, which had the following hand-written message on it:

"To the genius Hazard, regards Roman."

The Belgian must have been buzzing to receive such a gift. He later thanked the former Barcelona and Villarreal player in a clip on social media.

Do you think Hazard will stay with Chelsea or should he move to Los Blancos in the summer?

Let us know in the comments.

Topics: Football News, Eden Hazard, Belgium, Chelsea, Football, Transfers, Premier League, West Ham, Boca Juniors, Real Madrid

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_