Former Real Madrid stars Zinedine Zidane and Claude Makelele both claimed one of their former Los Blancos teammates was criminally underrated – and they have a point.
Zidane needs no introduction to Real Madrid fans as he is arguably one of the club’s greatest ever midfielders, having helped the 15-time European champions win a combined 17 trophies across five seasons as a player and two stints as head coach.
A year before ‘Zizou’ completed a then-world record switch from Juventus to Real in 2001, the club also signed defensive midfielder Claude Makelele from Celta Vigo.
The pair formed a formidable partnership in the heart of Madrid’s midfield between 2001 and 2003, before Makelele was sold to Chelsea, where he continued to impress first under Claudio Ranieri before winning two Premier League titles under the tutelage of Jose Mourinho.
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And the duo, particularly Zidane, given his connection with both clubs, will no doubt have a close eye on Real’s Champions League league phase clash against Juventus on Wednesday evening.
An array of world-class players will likely be of interest to Zidane, with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, and Vinicius Junior set to feature at the Santiago Bernabeu.
And all of the aforementioned players often get great acclaim from spectators, pundits and their fellow professionals, but who do Zidane and Makelele believe is Real’s most underrated player of all time?
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Previously, when speaking to talkSPORT, Makelele described former Spain midfielder Guti as a “genius” but named another ex-Real player as the most underrated in an exclusive interview with SPORTbible, on behalf of Oddspedia.
"For me, you talk about Zidane, Figo, Roberto Carlos, you talk about (Steve) McManaman, amazing,” Makelele said.
“For me, he (McManaman) is one of the best, best players in Madrid’s history.”
Englishman McManaman joined Real on a free transfer from Liverpool in 1999 before going to enjoy four successful years with the La Liga giants, during which he won two La Liga titles and two Champions League crowns. The Scouser even scored a volley in Real’s European triumph against Valencia in 2000.
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The Frenchman added: “At the beginning, I didn’t even believe he was English. His dribbling, his laughing, him as a teammate - I love this guy. I see him scoring goals, assisting, and he was never a problem in the dressing room or on the bench.
“This is a big player. He played just to play and had a great left foot."
And it appears that Zidane agrees with Makelele, as back in 2002, ‘Zizou’ claimed that England would “regret” not picking McManaman for the 2002 World Cup.
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"I was surprised when McManaman was left out of the last England squad. I couldn't believe they would ignore a player of his quality," Zidane said, as per Sky Sports.
McManaman returned to England when he signed for Manchester City in 2003, before being forced to retire prematurely in 2005 due to a recurring Achilles injury.
These days, the Liverpudlian works in football media.
Topics: Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane, Football, Champions League, La Liga
Luke Davies