Chelsea winger Eden Hazard will be best player in the world in 2020 - poll results
Readers of The Independent voted the Belgian ahead of the likes of Paul Pogba and Lionel Messi
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Your support makes all the difference.Eden Hazard put pen to paper on a new five-and-a-half year contract with Chelsea earlier this week and to improve his week a little more readers of The Independent believe he will be the best player on the planet by 2020.
Announcing the new deal for the Belgian winger Jose Mourinho said he can become "the best player in the world" during his time at Stamford Bridge.
And it seems readers of The Independent agree with the Special One.
Following Mourinho's assertion we opened a poll asking who you thought would be the best player on the planet in five years time.
Cristiano Ronaldo will be picking up his pension at Manchester United by 2020 and the landscape will have shifted dramatically - but already there are clues as to who might be the one picking up the Ballon d'Or a couple of years out from a World Cup in Qatar.
Hazard was the comfortable winner of the poll, with 36 per cent voting in favour of the Chelsea player.
Paul Pogba, currently at Juventus, was a solid second with 15 per cent. He edged out Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling who picked up 12 per cent. It also seems some of you think Lionel Messi will still be challenging for the Ballon d'Or at the ripe old age of 32 - the Argentina international collected eight per cent of the vote.
Harry Kane and Gareth Bale came next with five per cent each.
You can see the contenders for the vote below...
Lionel Messi
The Barcelona man will be 32 in five years, and will probably have scored over 500,000 goals for the Catalan giants. Will he be part of the same Chelsea attack as Hazard by then in a monumental £300m transfer, stranger things have happened.
Raheem Sterling
Currently at Liverpool but his reported contract demands mean he could be on the way to sunnier climes soon, with the European champions Real Madrid interested. Up front or on the wing, the 20-year-old has been impressive so far in his Reds career, having only made his debut in March 2012.
Marco Reus
The much in-demand 25-year-old midfielder signed a contract extension with Borussia Dortmund this week to keep away interest from Real Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool. Missed the World Cup after because ankle injury, but is expected to feature in many more major tournaments for Germany.
Paul Pogba
The first £100m player? His agent says he will be leaving Juventus within the next 18 months and the 21-year-old has attracted the interest of Chelsea and Manchester City. A dominant force in the France midfield.
Eden Hazard
The 24-year-old's manager at Chelsea, Jose Mourinho, says he can become "the best in the world" after signing his new five-and-a-half year contract today. Few would argue with 'The Special One'.
Martin Odegaard
The Norwegian 16-year-old recently joined up at Real Madrid. Could he be the youngest ever winner of the Ballon d'Or?. He'll have to beat (the Brazilian) Ronaldo, who was 21 when he was awarded the trophy in 1997.
Harry Kane
The 21-year-old can't stop scoring for Tottenham at the moment, with 23 goals in all competitions, and soon will be featuring for England too. The next Alan Shearer?
Antoine Griezmann
The 23-year-old French playmaker joined Atletico Madrid for £24m last summer. Seen as the natural successor to Franck Ribery in the national team.
Gareth Bale
The £86m Welshman. The world's most expensive player should have free reign at Real Madrid by then, with Cristiano Ronaldo 35.
James Rodriguez
Colombian excelled at the recent World Cup, and the attacking midfielder only be 28 in 2020.
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