Claude Makelele is speaking to a group of journalists from around the world before the biggest domestic fixture in club football, El Clasico. He is playing a little game. Makelele has to stop them when they name a better player in his specific position.

Michael Essien? Silence. Casemiro? Silence. Moises Caicedo? Xabi Alonso? Sergio Busquets? Ryan Gravenberch? Rodri? N'Golo Kante? Silence. "I love all the players you mentioned," he says, eventually. "But I am special." It is the Makelele role for a reason.

Now 52, Makelele defined a position like few before him or since. He won LaLiga and the Champions League with Real Madrid. When he left, helping Chelsea to back-to-back Premier League titles, that team of Galacticos were never quite the same again.

Image: Real Madrid's Claude Makelele argues with Barcelona's Patrick Kluivert in El Clasico

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"I had the capacity to play offensively or defensively. I chose to play defensive and tactically because offensively, I didn't need to go there because I had my teammates that could do the offence. We had [Zinedine] Zidane, [Luis] Figo, Raul, Ronaldo, you understand?

"I did...