Claude Makélélé
Claude Makélélé Sinda (born 18 February 1973) is a football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. Regarded as one of the greatest defensive midfielders of all time, Makélélé has been credited with redefining the defensive midfield role in English football, especially during the 2004–05 FA Premier League season, where he played a key role in helping Chelsea win the title with 95 points. In homage, the defensive midfield position is sometimes colloquially known as the "Makélélé Role".
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Makélélé in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Claude Makélélé Sinda | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 18 February 1973 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Kinshasa, Zaire | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1990 | Melun-Dammarie | ||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1991 | Brest | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1991–1997 | Nantes | 169 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Marseille | 32 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 1998–2000 | Celta Vigo | 70 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2000–2003 | Real Madrid | 94 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2008 | Chelsea | 144 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | Paris Saint-Germain | 98 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 607 | (18) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | France U21 | 7 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1995–2008 | France | 71 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Bastia | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Eupen | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
In his playing career, which ended at Paris Saint-Germain, Makélélé also played for Nantes, Marseille, Celta Vigo, Real Madrid and Chelsea. He won league titles in France, Spain and England, as well as the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League during his time with Real Madrid. Furthermore, Makélélé was once selected in the FIFPRO Men's World 11 while playing for Chelsea.
Born in Zaire, Makélélé was a French international for 13 years and was part of the France national team which reached the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He also represented his nation at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, two UEFA European Championships and the 1996 Summer Olympics.
After retiring from playing, Makélélé went into coaching and technical staff roles. He has been manager at Bastia and Eupen; assistant manager at Paris Saint-Germain and Swansea; a youth coach and technical mentor at Chelsea; and technical director at Monaco.