Former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Claude Makelele spoke to Squawka about the club’s upcoming Champions League Final against Inter Milan.
Makelele gave his thoughts on the final and what a win would mean for PSG, and France, as well as potential Ballon d’Or winners.
The former Real Madrid and Chelsea man also talked about his previous experiences in the competition, having both won and lost a final.
Jump to:
- What PSG winning the Champions League would mean
- How the 2025 Champions League Final will go
- PSG winning the Champions League without Mbappe
- Ousmane Dembele’s Ballon d’Or chances
- Winning the Champions League with Real Madrid
- Losing in the 2008 Champions League Final
You were at PSG as a player and a coach around the time of their takeover, what do you think winning the Champions League will mean to the club?
Finally! They’d finally win because they’ve been trying for this trophy since the beginning of this project. They’ve made mistakes, because in football you need to make mistakes to progress. And they’ve realised and corrected different mistakes, and they’ve started to build in a different way. They’ve lost one final and now they’ve come back. And it will be good for the club, for the country and for the fans, because they play good football.
You mentioned the impact on the country. What impact could PSG winning the Champions League have on French football?
PSG are a symbol of French football. Before, it was Marseille, maybe a different team. Now it’s PSG, because the brand is so strong. We talk about this brand around the world, the shirt, the Jordan shirt, everything like this. It’s amazing. The publicity, the players, a lot of players coming with history – (Lionel) Messi, (Kylian) Mbappe, Neymar. We talk about different things now, they deserve a big trophy for the platform. And this trophy will help them for the future.
In terms of the match itself, what do PSG need to do to ensure they get the better of Inter Milan this weekend?
No single player will win it. If it’s on penalties, 1-0 and we park the bus there, but I don’t think the manager will change the strategy. Of course, he’ll approach it in a different way because it’s a final, but he will make this team ready for a fight. Because Inter are a good team. They’re a team with experience and many players who have played two finals already, they know exactly how to manage this kind of game. It’s not an easy final and let’s see, but I think Inter have a little advantage because the experience is there. But Paris Saint-Germain have a manager with all this experience, he knows exactly how to manage these young players and I hope Paris Saint-Germain win the trophy.
How significant would it be that PSG have won the trophy in their first season without Kylian Mbappe?
This is football and Kylian Mbappe does not deserve to win the Champions League all the time. I think with Real Madrid he’ll have more opportunities to reach the final more than with PSG, because Real Madrid are always there. This season they were in a little bit of a bad way because they lost against Arsenal straightaway and couldn’t come back. But I think Mbappe will win this trophy one day.
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If PSG were to win the Champions League, do you think Ousmane Dembele should be in with a chance of winning the Ballon d’Or?
I know many people are in the running for this Ballon d’Or! He has a chance, like a lot of players. Vinicius Jr, Mbappe. I think if he wins this trophy, and they confirm the national team leadership, and he starts the way he plays at Paris Saint-Germain, of course he has the opportunity to win the Ballon d’Or.
You’ve won the Champions League with Real Madrid. Where would you place that among your achievements in your career?
I think winning the Champions League makes you dream more. The more you win trophies, the more you dream of different trophies. Step by step you start to change your mentality and think far. I always say, after the World Cup, it’s the Champions League. And when you win both, you’ve had a good career.
You lost the Champions League final with Chelsea in 2008. What do you think was missing from that team that prevented you from winning?
At the time, I thought we could win everything and we deserved to win everything. But I always say, love from football doesn’t always make you take everything. We prepared Chelsea to be successful in the Champions League. We built this team to be stronger, to dream. And now, Chelsea are behind Manchester United and Liverpool for the Champions League. And Nottingham Forest, because sometimes we forget Nottingham Forest won the Champions League. I’m happy because I was part of the building of this platform for Chelsea.
Outside of actually winning the Champions League, what’s your favourite memory of playing in the competition?
My favourite moment before winning the Champions League was when we played against Barcelona in the quarter-final. We won with goals from (Zinedine) Zidane and (Steve) McManaman. I remember starting to feel like we were going to the final. Because when you eliminate your opponent, and your opponent could have won [the Champions League], it makes you dream of having the possibility to win the trophy.
Claude Makelele was speaking on behalf of bet365, the official global partner of the Uefa Champions League, which is hosting its Big Ticket Giveaway Game this Friday 30th May in Munich from 4pm, where fans have the chance to win tickets to the Uefa Champions League Final. Full Terms and Conditions apply. Gamble Responsibly. Full interview can be found at bet365 News.