Chelsea icon Claude Makelele believes that Moises Caciedo will be in the running for next year’s Ballon d’Or if he continues to build on his current form.
Caicedo took his time to settle into life at Stamford Bridge, but his performances over the past 18 months have shown why Chelsea were willing to pay the record-breaking £115million fee to sign him from Brighton in 2023.
The Ecuadorian international won Chelsea’s Player of the Year award last season, starting all 38 Premier League games as Enzo Maresca’s side secured their return to the Champions League after a two-year absence.
And the 24-year-old has started this season in even more scintillating form, delivering his latest all-action display last weekend to help the Blues continue their fine recent record against London rivals Tottenham.
Such performances are not going under the radar, with Chelsea boss Maresca claiming that Manchester City’s Rodri is the only defensive midfielder who can be considered on the same level as Caicedo.
Get personalised updates on Chelsea every day
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
Former Tottenham and Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp was equally effusive with praise, suggesting Caicedo was ‘the best of his type in world football’.
Makelele, meanwhile, widely considered the gold standard of Chelsea’s illustrious former defensive midfielders, insisted he is not surprised by Caicedo’s current level of performance.
And the Frenchman believes the midfielder will soon enter the conversation as one of the world’s best players, regardless of position, if he can continue to cement himself as a leader within Chelsea’s young side.
‘I’m not surprised. I’ve been around Chelsea when he arrived in England, and I talked with him. I like this boy, I like this boy,’ Makelele told Metro. ‘He is talented, powerful, and tactically, he is very good.
‘When I played for Chelsea, I had that leadership, but the leadership is not always about the captain, not about talking. Leadership can be about taking the game with responsibility.
‘Make sure your teammates understand that when you are there, they will win. That they can’t play without you. That they need you all the time because you are the balance for everything, the mental, technical side, the body language.
‘I think it’s a part of his progression when you take this kind of possibility and understanding because he is so good, and he can be the leader for this team.
‘This is very important, and if he continues, I think he can also compete for the Ballon d’Or next year because he is such a good player.’
Makelele continued: ‘I played in this position and I know how difficult it is to play in this position, how difficult it is to think on your feet. Because when you play in this position, you can’t think for yourself; you need to think about the team, about the way you see it.
‘In a game, you need to read quickly in that position. Sometimes the manager doesn’t have time to give you the message and you need to analyse straight away and be like a second manager in the team.
‘It’s very, very important that you need to have the character, you need to have a strong mentality. This is not easy, but I’m sure he will be one of the big players for the club moving forward. He will make history in a Chelsea shirt.’
With Caicedo as their driving force, Chelsea currently sit just one point off the top four and are well-placed in the Champions League after the opening three games of the league phase.
A youthful Chelsea squad have still shown signs of their inexperience this season, but Makelele believes they have also proven they have enough quality to contend against the very best sides in the league and on the continent.
‘In America at the Club World Cup, I saw a team that was more competitive with a big ambition this season,’ he added. ‘In the Premier League, I think they’re starting good, slowly.
‘Of course, sometimes they play good, sometimes they don’t play good. They win. But most importantly, when they win, it has been against teams who will be fighting for the title like Liverpool, Tottenham, all this kind of competition.
‘I think Chelsea know exactly how to win these types of games. I see this when they win against Tottenham, and I think it’s good for their mentality. I would not worry about the Premier League; they will be there. Winning the Premier League, I don’t know. But I think this season they will be there in the top four and fighting for the title.
‘The Champions League is a different competition now, a different platform. They need to understand exactly how to win this platform and compete because it’s been a long time.
‘And now there are many, many teams. Paris Saint-Germain dominated in Europe last year. Real Madrid, they will be there. Bayern Munich, Arsenal.
‘Chelsea need to learn again and try to make sure they get themselves into the quarter-final, semi-final. I think if they are there, I think they have a possibility for winning because they demonstrated in America that they can beat Paris Saint-Germain in a good way.
‘They show how to play, how to fight, how to score, and this is good. This is the way we want to see Chelsea.’
Claude Makélélé was speaking on behalf of bet365, the official global partner of the UEFA Champions League, which is hosting its Big Ticket Giveaway on Tuesday 4th November outside Kings Cross Station from 1530, where fans have the chance to win tickets to UEFA Champions League matches. Full Terms and Conditions apply. +18 Gamble Responsibly.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.