In order to stand any chance of progressing to the Champions League quarter-finals, Chelsea needed their best players to produce big performances over the two legs against Barcelona.This was Eden Hazard’s opportunity to prove that he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.The Belgian superstar was reasonably good in the first leg - although Willian was Chelsea’s standout player during last month’s 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge - and he had another chance to showcase his talents at the Camp Nou on Wednesday evening.While Hazard showed glimpses of his quality the 27-year-old, who has been continually linked with a move to Real Madrid over recent years, was overshadowed by the world’s greatest player.Messi scored two goals and set up the other as Barça secured a 3-0 victory over their Premier League opponents.Unlike the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Hazard never looked like dragging his team to the quarter-finals.

Roy Keane drops truth bomb about Eden Hazard

And after the match, the straight-talking former Manchester United captain Roy Keane dropped a truth bomb about the Belgium international live on ITV Sport.

“On any given day obviously he can be very, very good but to me there are too many off days when he’s just not up to it,” Keane said.

“If you’re trying to compare him to the likes of Messi, he’s way behind them.

“That’s the beauty with Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo: they’ve been doing it year after year, they always seem to be fit, they play 50 or 60 games a season, they produce week-in, week-out and these other lads that we’re talking about [referring to Hazard] don’t.”

Ouch.

Watch Keane give his honest opinion about Hazard here…

Why Keane is right about Hazard

While Keane’s comments might come across as blunt and perhaps even a little harsh, it’s very hard to disagree with his assessment.

Hazard is an extraordinarily talented footballer but is clearly nowhere near the level of either Messi or Ronaldo.

Instead he’s on the next tier down alongside the likes of Neymar, Gareth Bale, Antoine Griezmann, Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and so on.

That, of course, is hardly a criticism of Hazard’s ability. It still means he’s one of the world’s elite players.

But reaching the unprecedented levels set be Messi and Ronaldo over the past decade might be beyond his capabilities.

Is Roy Keane right about Eden Hazard? Have your say by leaving a comment below…