Makelele etched his name into the history of both clubs at the beginning of their respective journeys to becoming European champions. He was at Chelsea between 2003 and 2008, a period in which we established ourselves as the best team in England – and arguably Europe.

His final game for the Blues was that heartbreaking night in Moscow when we came so close to winning the Champions League for the first time. But the seeds had been sown, and glory awaited us in Munich four years later.

By then, Makelele was an assistant to Carlo Ancelotti at PSG. He had finished his playing days in the French capital by helping Les-Rouge-et-Blue turn a corner, achieving stability on the pitch and soon benefitting from fresh ownership off it. Domestic dominance followed and, in May last year, a maiden and much sought-after Champions League title was won.

‘Like Chelsea, Paris craved this trophy for a long time,’ Makelele tells us in the West Stand at Stamford Bridge.

‘It was a similar journey. When I joined Chelsea, we created a new team with new history, but bigger. At Paris we did the same. Two capitals. Now both clubs have realised many things in the Champions League.

‘It’s nice when you have been a part of these big projects. This is what we love about football. You really feel it. I am proud because my name will say forever that I was there.’

We remind Makelele of the first meeting between the sides, a Champions League group stage fixture in September 2004. Maka started in midfield for Jose Mourinho’s Blues, who ran out comfortable 3-0 winners at the Parc des Princes.

It was a particularly special evening for Didier Drogba, who was jeered throughout for his Marseille connections but silenced the home support by netting twice.

‘We knew we were better than them,’ recalls Makelele, who is pictured top ahead of a Chelsea Legends match last year.

‘We had more competitive players in this team, players who had experience of playing in the Champions League and even winning the Champions League.

‘I didn’t want to lose that one with Paris Saint-Germain! It’s my country, my capital – I started learning football in Paris. It was a big focus for me to win the game and we did, easily.’

Within four years, Makelele was calling the Parc des Princes home. Chelsea agreed to release the Frenchman from his contract early so he could join PSG. The 35-year-old was leaving the Champions League runners-up behind for a club fresh from finishing 16th in Ligue 1.

‘Sometimes you miss your country,’ says Makelele. ‘I had started understanding England and London, but I never spoke English properly in this time.

‘When I got to Paris, they had been struggling. They had been nearly relegated two times, and there were a lot of problems with the fans.

‘When I came back the club made me captain. They knew I was a competitor and I could give good advice to the young players on how to compete and win games. Some of the players weren’t ready for where Paris wanted to go. I knew exactly how to help them. I’m proud because I did it. I did it in my way. We started to build the club in a good way.

‘After I retired they kept me as a coach and working with the young players and then with Ancelotti. This was the beginning for Paris. They learned a lot from all their mistakes, and now they are a proper big club. The PSG brand is one of biggest in the world now. The evolution has been amazing, not only this but in their game, also. They have created a Paris style.’

It is this new, elite Paris Saint-Germain that await Chelsea. Makelele believes last summer’s Stateside showdown – in which the Blues triumphed 3-0 in the Club World Cup final – will not have a major bearing on the forthcoming Round of 16 tie. However, he says that victory in New Jersey did highlight what this Chelsea team are capable of on the big occasion.

‘Paris will be ready, and Chelsea need to focus on this game and not dream about when they beat them in America in another competition,’ says Makelele.

‘They are young players, talented. A young team needs to show why they are champion players. They have been waiting to play in these types of games in the Champions League. We know Paris are there already.'

‘In Paris, the fans are electric,’ Makelele adds. ‘When I played there, they built pressure, proper pressure for their adversaries – and for their own players, also!

‘It will be two teams with similar stories and similar rises. I’m just happy because I will be at both games!’

Whatever happens, Makelele will be watching this mouth-watering tie with pride, knowing just what a significant role he played in making these two clubs what they are today.