When great players throughout football leave an undeniable mark on the global game, they are often rewarded with the plaudits to recognise such contributions.
Of all the ways to immortalise a player’s gifts, naming a skill, position, or other on-field ability after them is one of the most coveted and rarefied honours.
Such is the case for Claude Makelele, the former Real Madrid and Chelsea midfielder who has been remembered for modernising the central midfield position and ushering the No. 6 role into the modern age.
The Sporting News discusses what Claude Makelele is best remembered for, what he accomplished over the course of his glittering career, and why English football dubbed his position the “Makelele role” by the time he departed the Premier League.
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How good was Claude Makelele?
Born in Zaire, Claude Makelele was one of Europe’s most successful footballers of the 1990’s and early 2000’s.
He began his career with French club Nantes, playing there for six seasons and making over 200 appearances. Makelele would go on to play for Marseille and Celta Vigo before joining Real Madrid. Chelsea got the rest of his prime and he finished his career at Paris Saint-Germain.
When it was all said and done, Makelele finished as one of the best midfielders to ever play the game. According to GiveMeSport, Makelele was the fourth-best defensive midfielder of all time.
While that can obviously be subjective, there’s no doubting that he was one of the most revolutionary. At the time he played, the position of defensive midfielder was a thankless job, and one that rarely received recognition or attention. Fast forward to 2025, and it is one of the most important positions in modern football, one that is the focal point of modern tactics and receives requisite scrutiny from fans and media.
The ‘Makelele role’ explained: Why they named a position after him
While the role of defensive midfielder had been a key fixture of tactical setups for decades, Claude Makelele redefined the role and brought the position into the modern age.
Prior to Makelele’s presence in the global game, the position of defensive midfield didn’t exist in the way we know it today. Most clubs ran a version of a 4-4-2 formation, in which two central midfielders combined to perform the possessional responsibilities, while the defensive line behind them largely functioned as its own unit.
Along comes Makelele, who essentially carried the role of the deep-lying playmaker into the modern age. While he was certainly a defensive presence, Makelele’s best and most well-remembered attributes came in possession, where he would dictate tempo, begin attacking moves, and generally control game flow.
Modern playmaking midfielders, or Registas as they are sometimes known, often play alongside a true defensive midfielder to cover ground and allow them to focus on on-ball playmaking.
What made Makelele truly great was that he could do both, a one-man wrecking machine off the ball who could also carry possession forward and progress play through midfield while on it. Thus, while Lothar Matheus could be considered the “father” of this position, it would become known as the “Makelele role” due to the Frenchman’s notoriety in popularising it within a 4-3-3. At Chelsea, this led to the wonderfully balanced triumvirate he underpinned with Michael Essien and Frank Lampard
“I appreciate this because the English know football, and when they give you this platform with this name, I’m always grateful for this,” Makelele said.
Claude Makelele stats, career trophies
Over the course of his career, Claude Makelele would become one of the most decorated footballers of his time, reaching two Champions League finals and winning one, while also reaching the 2006 World Cup final with France.
He lifted a domestic league title on five occasions with three different clubs and added five domestic knockout cup titles.
Career stats
All stats via Transfermarkt.com.
| Years | Club | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 1992-1997 | Nantes | 205 | 11 | 6 |
| 1997-1998 | Marseille | 36 | 3 | 2 |
| 1998-2000 | Celta Vigo | 88 | 5 | 3 |
| 2000-2003 | Real Madrid | 145 | 2 | 8 |
| 2003-2008 | Chelsea | 217 | 2 | 6 |
| 2008-2011 | PSG | 118 | 1 | 4 |
Trophies Won
Nantes:
Real Madrid
- UEFA Champions League (2001/02)
- La Liga (2x — 2000/01, 2002/03)
- Supercopa de Espana (2001, 2003)
- UEFA Super Cup (2002)
- FIFA Intercontinental Cup (2002)
Chelsea
- Premier League (2x — 2004/05, 2005/06)
- FA Cup (2006/07)
- League Cup (2x — 2004/05, 2006/07)
- FA Community Shield (2005)
PSG
- Coupe de France (2009/10)
Why Makelele left Real Madrid and what Zinedine Zidane said
While Claude Makelele was of vital importance to the Real Madrid side that won the 2001/02 Champions League and secured two La Liga titles in three years, he remained one of the lower-paid players in the squad, likely due to his position which, at the time, was not considered either glamorous or vital.
After Real Madrid sacked Vicente del Bosque and brought in David Beckham as part of the ‘Galacticos’ project, Makelele went to club management and asked for an improved contract, which was reportedly rejected. Makelele revealed in a conversation with talkSPORT that Real Madrid promised him a bonus that offseason, but ultimately delayed payment on this bonus before withdrawing the offer.
“When people do not respect you, they will never respect you,” Makelele said his father advised him at the time.
Thus, Makelele was sold to Chelsea, and Real Madrid ran a smear campaign in the aftermath of his departure. Club president Florentino Perez said, “He wasn’t a header of the ball and he rarely passed the ball more than three metres,” Perez said. “Younger players will arrive who will cause Makelele to be forgotten.”
This feeling, however, was not shared among the Real Madrid playing squad. To highlight Makelele’s importance to Real Madrid and thus the global game, Real Madrid legend Zinedane Zidane famously responded to his compatriot’s departure and subsequent replacement with Beckham by saying: “Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?”
The young players he was referring to were the likes of Esteban Cambiasso and Santiago Solari, who, while notable players in their own right, were nowhere near Makelele’s level
Real Madrid became defined by their all-star forward lineup, with the likes of Ronaldo, Luis Figo, and Michael Owen brought aboard, but it would not bring continental success. Real Madrid did not win another European title for over a decade, when they returned to the Champions League summit in 2014.
Was Claude Makelele a Chelsea legend?
While his exit from Real Madrid was spun as an afterthought in Spain, Claude Makelele found himself much more appreciated in England as he joined Chelsea in the summer of 2003.
Brought aboard by Claudio Ranieri, Makelele’s first season was one of transition. The club was bought by Roman Abramovich, and they finished second in the Premier League to the Invincibles of Arsenal, who they knocked out of the Champions League on a run to the semifinals.
With Jose Mourinho then brought aboard, brighter days were ahead. Mourinho led the club to successive Premier League titles in 2004/05 and 2005/06, and they won the FA Cup and League Cup double the following year. Mourinho was sacked early in the 2007/08 season, but Avram Grant led them to the Champions League final, where they lost to Manchester United in a penalty shootout.
While the term “legend” is a complicated one, nearly all involved with the club at the time have spoken fondly of Makelele’s contributions to Chelsea, and he almost surely qualifies for the designation.
Mourinho said recently that Makelele “knew more about what a ‘number six’ is than me,” while his former Chelsea teammate Michael Ballack called him “a very smart guy with such great football intelligence…I loved playing with Makelele because as I described, [he’s a] great player.”
