Former Blues midfielder Claude Makelele says he believes N’Golo Kante is one of the best midfielders in the world.

Kante has won back-to-back Premier League titles since moving to England in 2015 with Leicester and Chelsea. The Frenchman is well known for his outstanding ability in the centre of the park, but being tipped as one of the best in the world by someone who is easily one of the best players of all time is some achievement.

Makelele spent 5 years at Chelsea from 2003 to 2008, making over 140 appearances for the club. The Frenchman was a hard figure to replace at Stamford Bridge for many reasons, but the man himself believes his fellow countryman has done the job.

Makelele told Marca: “As a player I had a different sort of leadership, it came on the pitch and it reminds me a lot of Kante now at Chelsea. It’s about knowing what your role is and knowing where to move and how your team-mates are going to move and what they are going to want from you at any given moment.”

“You have to like working for the benefit of the other players before yourself. Kante is an example of that. He doesn’t stop running, and he does it always with a smile on his face. He is a very impressive player, without doubt one of the best midfielders in the world.”

The 44-year-old, who is now assistant manager of Swansea City, also revealed his decision to leave Real Madrid for Chelsea – saying he felt more wanted at Stamford Bridge.

“I never wanted to leave Madrid. Why would I want to leave the best club in the world, where you can win trophies? I am not crazy. But there was a difficult situation there that I could not stand any longer,” said Makelele.

“Madrid had given me so many things but I went to Chelsea. The central midfielder is the soul of the team and they realised that.”
[Quotes sourced via Daily Mail]