Brest (France),
Nantes (France), Marseille (France), Celta Vigo (Spain), Real
Madrid (Spain), Chelsea FC (England)
Honours
2002
Intercontinental Cup winner (Real Madrid) 2002 European SuperCup winner (Real Madrid) 2002 Champions League winner (Real Madrid) 1995 French 1st Division.. Champions (Nantes) 2001 Primera.. League Champions (Real Madrid) 2003 Primera.. League Champions (Real Madrid) 2005 Premiership Champions (Chelsea FC) 2005 League Cup winner (Chelsea FC) 2000 Intercontinental Cup Finals (Real Madrid) 2000 European SuperCup Finals (Real Madrid) 2002 League Cup Finals (Real Madrid)
Biography
Claude Makélélé (born February 18, 1973 in Kinshasa, Zaïre) is a
French international football (soccer) player, who currently
plays defensive midfield for Chelsea in the English Premiership.
Prior to joining Chelsea, Makélélé played for Nantes (1992-97),
Olympique de Marseille (1997-98), Celta Vigo (1998-2000), and
Real Madrid (2000-03). Chelsea purchased him for £16.6M from the
Spanish giants.
Claude Makélélé moved to Savigny-le-Temple, a Parisian suburb in
Seine-et-Marne (77), in 1977, when he was 4 years old. His
father was also a football player selected in the Zairian
national football team before ending his career in the Belgian
first division.
Makélélé had never left Savigny-le-Temple until the age of 16,
when he joined the training centre of Brest-Armorique in
Brittany. According to him, it wasn't easy to adapt to the new
life in Brest, the training centre life was tough, especially as
it was the first time he was far from his family.
According to him, he has worked very hard in Brest, but it's in
Nantes where he discovered the real pleasure of playing.
Makélélé was recruited by FC Nantes Atlantique in December 1991,
when he was still 18 years old. Robert Budzinski, the Sport
director from Nantes confessed that once he had found "Maka" in
Brest, he was sure he would become the new Alain Giresse. At the
beginning of the 1992-1993 season, Claude Makélélé was already
in Nantes A-team, in French first division. He played at Nantes
for five seasons, winning the French Championship in 1995 before
moving to Marseille.
After one year in Marseille, he caught the attention of Celta
Vigo where he played for the next two years. In 2000, he was
recruited by Real Madrid. While in Madrid he substantially added
to his medal tally, winning two La Liga titles, one Champions
League, one Spanish Super Cup, one European Super Cup and one
Intercontinental Cup. He also cemented his place as one of the
best holding midfielders in the world. In the summer of 2003 he
signed for Chelsea for £16,800,000, where the then manager
Claudio Ranieri proclaimed that Makélélé would be the "battery"
of the team.
Claude Makélélé has also been selected to represent France on
the international level. As of the end of 2004, he has compiled
33 caps, and played for his country at the 1996 Olympic Games,
the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004. Makélélé decided to retire
from international football in September of 2004, in order to
focus on achieving further club glory with Chelsea. But eleven
months later, in August 2005, he decided to return to the French
fold in an announcement made by compatriots Zinédine Zidane and
Lilian Thuram.
Makélélé's role for Chelsea is often overlooked, but he was the
unsung hero in Chelsea FC's successful 2004/05 season, winning
both the Premiership and the League Cup. His defensive qualities
allow the likes of Frank Lampard and Joe Cole to parade their
attacking skills. However, Makélélé's importance has been
recognised by Chelsea manager José Mourinho, who recently said
he was Chelsea's player of the year. This is displayed by Real
Madrid's apparent downturn after letting him go to now
successful Chelsea, an opinion voiced by his former team-mate at
Madrid, the Englishman, Steve McManaman, who in his
autobiography described Makelele as the most important midfield
player who was under-appreciated at Madrid. To cap off a
brilliant 2004/05 for the Frenchman, he was allowed to take a
penalty awarded to Chelsea in the game against Charlton Athletic
on the day the Premiership trophy was due to be presented. He
missed, but subsequently converted the rebound to score his
first goal in 94 games for the Blues. In September 2005 he was
selected as a member of the World XI at the FIFPro awards. The
team was chosen by a vote of professional footballers in 40
countries.
In the spring of 2004, he started a relationship with French
model Noémie Lenoir and in February 2005, Lenoir gave birth to a
boy they named Kelyan.
