Eden Hazard must light his 'sacred fires' in order to match Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, says Chelsea manager Antonio Conte

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Antonio Conte has told Eden Hazard he must light his ‘sacred fires’ if he is to match ‘giants’ like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

A day after Hazard ranked 19th on the Ballon d’Or vote for the world’s best player, Conte was adamant his Belgian playmaker could reach the immense levels set by Messi and Ronaldo, who won the award for the fifth time on Thursday.

Whether Hazard can go on to make that sizable step will come down to ‘hunger’, according to Conte, who was rather poetic in urging the 26-year-old to match the relentless obsession that drives Messi and Ronaldo.

Antonio Conte has told Eden Hazard to light ‘sacred fires’ if he is to match Cristiano Ronaldo

Hazard ranked 19th on the Ballon d’Or vote, while Ronaldo won his fifth award on Thursday

Whether Hazard can go on to make that sizable step will come down to ‘hunger’, says Conte

‘When you see these players you see a hunger in every moment,’ Conte said. ‘Score one goal and they want to score the second. Score the second and they want to score the third. For that reason they are special.

‘It is not important if last season Ronaldo won, now if you ask him or Messi, they want to win, win, win and continue. The past is not important the past for these players.

‘I like to call it a “sacred fire” - when you have it inside you, the will to win every game to score goals. Every one of us, we have this sacred fire and we have to find the right solution to improve it.

‘At this level you must have this type of situation. Then the flame can be big or little. When you have an inferno it means you are like Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar.

‘Eden has right characteristic to try to fight with these giants. He has the characteristic, so then he has to try to do this. And to improve his position in this table in the next year. He has the potential to do this.’

Hazard is having an impressive season, with eight goals and six assists in all competitions

Hazard is having an impressive season, with eight goals and six assists in all competitions going into the clash at West Ham. Chelsea are also in form after six wins in their past seven in the league, but Conte has raised the issue of whether his side are at a disadvantage because of the number of London derbies they play.

They will face 10 all-London fixtures over the course of the season, which was put to Conte in comparison to the two Manchester clubs.

Conte said: ‘I think in this league every game is very touch but to play during a season eight to 10 derby games is more difficult.’

Meanwhile, Thibaut Courtois has indicated that he will return to Spain one day for family reasons. The goalkeeper’s two children live in Madrid and that could yet have an impact on his contract talks, with only 18 months to go on his deal.

Speaking to Spanish station LaSexta, Courtois said: ‘Everybody knows that due to my personal situation, Spain attracts me. If it is not now, it will be in some years.’