Makelele’s status as one of the finest players ever to represent Chelsea is secured. He arrived from Real Madrid having won the Champions League as part of their famous ‘galacticos’ era, to anchor our midfield as we won back-to-back Premier League titles in 2004 and 2005, ending our 50-year wait to be crowned champions of England a second time.

He has kept close to the club since his retirement, spending time working with the developing young talent in our Academy, and was out in the USA to watch the team during this summer’s triumph at the FIFA Club World Cup.

The Frenchman was impressed by what he saw from the Blues, with it being no surprise our current midfield caught his eye.

‘Chelsea have good players, young and talented players,’ said Makelele. ‘I’ve seen them progress a lot and I’m proud of this club.

‘I know Chelsea, they are fighters. That’s true also of the midfielders, with young players like Caicedo and [Romeo] Lavia, such very good players.’

Caicedo is a player who has drawn inevitable comparisons to Makelele, given their similar position at the base of the Chelsea midfield.

The holding midfield role is one which Claude made his own at the Bridge, to the extent that you can still hear people referring to it as the ‘Makelele role’.

However, the legend himself believes it is time to hand the baton over, with Caicedo showing enough potential to make that position his own – and, most importantly, in his own way.

‘I think he has a lot of talent,’ continued Makelele. ‘Moi is humble, he plays with a smile and works hard for his team-mates. I did that when I was playing, enjoyed myself, and he has the passion and is a fighter. I think the passion and the fight is just as important as talent.

‘I love him a lot, because when he started at Chelsea we talked together, and he was happy to come to Chelsea for his own story. He didn’t want to be compared to me, he wanted to do the “Caicedo role”.

‘It’s very important because I was older and already playing at a high level with Real Madrid before I came to Chelsea, so now it is a little bit difficult for a young boy to try to be me straight away without that experience. Or to try to be what people think of as me.

‘I prefer they do their own thing, write their own story, become their own “galactico”. So I am happy because that is what he is doing. To take my example and build on it in his own way is the best thing he can do.’

So, in years to come, could we have a new name synonymous with that position? Will we be asking if future Chelsea players can live up to the legacy of the ‘Caicedo role’?

With a grin, Makelele responds: ‘Why not? You look at any sport, people like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and what their names mean, but they were young boys when they started too.

‘Now Caicedo is a young boy also and can write his own story, so why can’t people be talking about the “Caicedo role” in the future?’