Gareth Bale vs Eden Hazard: Who had the better prime Premier League season? | OneFootball

Gareth Bale has drawn the curtains on his astonishing career.

Alongside his remarkable achievements as a Real Madrid player, Bale leaves a lasting legacy in the Premier League having first risen to world-class status with Tottenham Hotspur.

In fact, the 2012/13 season that marked his final year as a permanent member of the Spurs squad endures as one of the most remarkable individual campaigns that the division has ever seen.

And if you’re a regular GIVEMESPORT reader, then you might already know that we have something of an ongoing series where he compare the prime seasons of Premier League icons.

In the case of Bale, picking his greatest ever season in the competition was as easy as anything, but who would be most appropriate for him to go up against now that he’s retired?

What is Eden Hazard’s best ever season?

Well, the first name that came to mind was Mr. Eden Hazard as a fellow Premier League hero who gained legendary status with a London club before seeking pastures new at the Bernabeu.

That, and the fact that Hazard vs Bale has been a debate which has been bounded about by football fans on social media platforms for the best part of a decade now, so it just had to be done.

But which version of Hazard is best equipped to go up against the might of 2012/13 Bale? Well, in our eyes, it’s actually his final ever season in a Chelsea shirt.

The 2014/15 campaign in which Hazard won the Premier League title and PFA Players’ Player of the Year award tends to be the one that comes to mind for most people, but the tricky Belgian actually amassed both more goals and more assists in 2018/19.

Plus, having put 2018/19 Hazard up against prime Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah in the past, just take our word when we say that it was his footballing zenith in the Premier League.

Who had the better prime season: Bale or Hazard?

So, from there, we headed to the Premier League’s official player comparison tool and saw how the statistics of 2012/13 Bale and 2018/19 Hazard compared to one another.

Interested? Well of course you are, so be sure to take a look through the data as prime Hazard and Bale are compared offensively, defensively and with regards to team-play down below:

Who won: Bale or Hazard?

Well, well, well… that’s mighty, mighty close.

So, Bale scored more goals and Hazard produced more assists, but you’ve got to lean towards the Chelsea icon when you talk about goal contributions generally because his combined total of 31 bests that of the Welshman’s 25.

Nevertheless, we definitely give the win to Bale with regards to the attacking data as he amassed more goals from outside the box, didn’t rely on any penalties, missed fewer big chances and produced a better minutes per goal rate.

But Hazard’s sharper shooting shouldn’t be ignored, and he even gets the better of Bale in the team-play data as well with an almost unblemished victory where he’s only bested for crosses and times dispossessed.

However, as far as defending is concerned, the pendulum swings back towards to Bale as he leads the way for blocks, interceptions, tackles, clearances and aerial battles won.

So if your humble GIVEMESPORT writer had to pick one season over the other, then it would be 2012/13 Bale with the eye test ultimately proving the deciding factor, because those nine goals from outside the box did truly make him a one-man army at times.

But trust me, it’s mighty close, so we’ll leave you to make your own minds up overall.