Chelsea star Eden Hazard beats Man City rival Kevin De Bruyne to win Belgian player of the year by 11 votes
Chelsea star claims first individual trophy in Belgium marginally outdoing his Manchester City rival
EDEN HAZARD has won the 'Best Belgian Player in a foreign league' award for his performances in 2017.
The 27-year-old winger beat Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne by just 11 votes, with Dries Mertens of Napoli coming in third place.
Hazard had a tremendous year, scoring 16 league goals helping Chelsea to the Premier League title - narrowly losing out to team-mate N'Golo Kante for Player of the Year.
Since the start of the 17/18 season it's clear KDB has been superior, acting as the heartbeat of Manchester City's record-breaking team.
De Bruyne's seven goals and eleven assists were instrumental in leading City to their 18 consecutive wins - a Premier League record.
Despite Chelsea's poor run of form, Hazard has been the shining light in the Blues side - scoring nine league goals this season.
The two rivals will have to come together this summer when Roberto Martinez's side appear in Russia for the World Cup.
Belgium have been drawn into Group G along with England, Tunisia and Panama - who have qualified for the World Cup for the first time in their history.
Despite their exciting array of attacking talent, Belgium have struggled to make an impact at past tournaments.
They lost out to Wales in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 even though their team on paper was far superior.