
His tireless ball-winning and expert positional sense at the base of midfield was so exceptional it led to the coining of 'the Makélélé role' during his Real Madrid and Chelsea years. Career record: 71 caps and 0 goals for France; club career at FC Nantes, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain.
One rank above: Antoine Griezmann at #12.
One rank below: David Trezeguet at #14.
France's editorial top five: Zinedine Zidane · Michel Platini · Thierry Henry · Karim Benzema · Kylian Mbappé.