Real Madrid legend Claude Makelele sees himself in Casemiro

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Madrid, Oct 9: Arguably one of the best defensive midfielder's of all time, France legend Claude Makelele has labelled that he see's a bit of himself in Madrid midfielder Casemiro.

The 25-year-old Brazilian defensive midfielder slowly but steadily in the last two years has established himself as one of the best defensive midfielders of the current time and has become a key element of Zinedine Zidane's plan.

And the former Real Madrid player, Makelele claimed he feels the Brazil international is really starting to shine and believes that Casemiro boasts similar traits like Makelele.

“Casemiro’s playing very well,” he told Marca.

“Before the [2016] Champions League Final in Milan, I spoke to him in the dressing room.

“He knows the position he plays in very well and makes it look easy, with quality and hard work.

“He reminds me of myself. Some people thought I just used to run, but technically you have to know where and how to play.

“Casemiro’s very smart and always well-positioned. He can score goals too because he can go forward.

"I couldn’t with the players we had up top!"

Makelele, who is now with the Swansea as an assistant coach, also lifts the lid on his Real Madrid exit in 2006. The retired French international who joined Real in 2003 was one of the key performers of the Los Blancos side which claimed a Champions League and La Liga in his time at the club.

However, the midfielder was shipped out to Chelsea three years later and in Stamford Bridge, under Jose Mourinho, he became one of all time best midfielders.

And while talking about his shocking exit from Santiago Bernabeu at that time, Makelele claimed that that moment defensive midfielders were not rated as important in the team like now and manager Del Bosque could not operate him properly in the team.

“It seems that now, Real Madrid appreciate the dirty work of a midfielder more than my time there," he added.

“For Casemiro, the most important thing is that his teammates recognise the importance of his work. That’s his trophy.”