Former Chelsea midfielder, Claude Makelele has shared his opinion on what the true cause of the club’s struggles is.
Makalele shared his thoughts while speaking with The Athletic.
The Frenchman believes that the new crop of players at Chelsea do not understand the DNA of the club, and sadly, there’s no one left to teach them.
Makelele also opened up on the reason he left Stamford Bridge as a technical mentor six months ago, citing the plans of Chelsea’s new ownership as something that played a part in the decision, although his departure was by mutual consent.
“I went back to Chelsea after Roman [Abramovich], Frank [Lampard] and Petr [Cech] called me to try to make a development of the Chelsea DNA. The players need to understand that,” he said.
“We [Chelsea’s 2000s team] built ourselves with Gianfranco Zola, Roberto Di Matteo, all these kinds of players and we followed this path. We made success and we have to make these new young players understand how to make themselves a success again in the Premier League. Even if the owner is different, the DNA never changes, the platform never changes.”
“I stopped six months ago because the new project with Chelsea is different to the one I built for. Now is a different thing, a different project. It will take time. It’s a problem for Chelsea, because they don’t have time,” Makelele added.
“Roman picked me to go step by step, because we were learning day by day. But it’s not happening any more. We need to be positive and give them time because it’s a different footballer, a different generation.
“I know in football, anywhere — not just Chelsea — some players don’t have the DNA of the club. When you buy one club, you need to understand the background, and how difficult it is to be at that level.
“You come to Chelsea to win trophies, not just to learn about the Premier League. They bought some amazing players but they need to help them learn simplicity and humility and that will help them grow in the right way. The fans are worried about the history (of winning), which always happens in football.
“I don’t know [who can talk about the DNA at the club now]. It’s my club and I love this club, it’s hard.”