Claude Makélélé – How Rich is He? Net Worth, Biography, Wife [2024 Update]

Claude Makélélé is a former Chelsea and French footballer whose net worth is currently estimated at $55 Million. 51 years old, he made his fortune from his career as a footballer. He is currently a football manager. 

In the class of the greats like John Terry, Frank Lampard, and Didier Drogba, Makélélé played for other clubs such as Celta de Vigo and Real Madrid before he retired at Paris Saint-Germain. After that, the legendary defender turned to the coach and has since 2017, been the head coach of the Belgian First Division A team, Eupen. In 2019, he became the technical mentor of Chelsea FC.

Claude Makélélé Biography

Claude Makélélé was born in Kinshasa, the Republic of Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo on February 18, 1973. He was raised in a southeastern suburb of Paris called Savigny-le-Temple where his family moved in 1977 when he was only 4.

When Claude signed up with the U.S. Melun at 15, it was no real shocker as his father, Andre-Joseph Makélélé, father was a footballer with the Leopards, the Democratic Republic of the Congo national football team.

At 16, Claude parted with his family and moved to Brittany, France to join the Brest-Armorique training center. His hard work and zeal saw him being signed up in 1991 December by Football Club de Nantes (FC Nantes).

The sporting director of the club at the time, Robert Budzinski, is reported to have said he saw a great future in store for Claude just like that of Emmanuel Petit, the renowned French football player.

He lived to the director’s expectations and so for the next 5 years, he stayed with the club. He contributed immensely to the club’s win in the 1995 French Championship and reached the semi-final of the 1996 UEFA Champions League. After his spell with FC Nantes, Makélélé joined Olympique de Marseille for a season.

Makelele then moved to Real Club Celta de Vigo where he spent 2 seasons. He was part of the club’s 4-1 win against Liverpool and 4-0 win against Juventus in the UEFA Europa League.

Next, he moved to the Spanish club, Real Madrid Club de Futbol. This transfer was controversial as Celta was ‘forced’ to sell him for €14 million, a lower value than they wanted.

At Real Madrid, Makélélé made a lot of stunning achievements including helping the team win the following:

He was described as one of the top midfielders in the world but was underpaid by Real. When he asked for an improved contract, it was turned down despite all the value he added to the club. This led to Claude requesting a transfer and moving over to Chelsea.

Florentino Perez, the President of Real, had so many hurtful things to say about Claude’s skills but all were refuted by former teammates like Zidane, McManaman, and Fernando Hierro who had nothing but praise for him. They even attested to him being the best player Real had in those years.

His interesting move to Chelsea

Chelsea F.C bought Claude for £16.8 million in 2003 and he remained with the club till 2008. During this time, Chelsea won both the League Cup and FA Premier League in the 2004- 2005 season. Jose Mourinho also declared him the Player of the Year in that season.

On many occasions, Makélélé wore the captain band for the team. Claudio Ranieri, then Chelsea manager, stated at the beginning of his stay with the club that he would be the ‘battery’ of the team, and the French midfielder proved that true. In fact, the Frenchman was so good at what he did that his position was named after him; he literally caused everyone to refer to his position as the ‘Makelele Role.’

PSG Career and Retirement

From 2008, Claude played for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) till his retirement in 2010. In the 2010- 2011 season, he was made Coach Carlo Ancelotti’s assistant by PSG. Sporting Club Bastiais made him head coach in 2014, a position he retained for just 6 months before being sacked following the team’s loss to Guingamp in November.

The Frenchman also served as the technical director of Monaco from 2016 January to 2017 January when he joined Swansea City as Coach Paul Clement’s assistant. In 2017, he joined K.A.S. Eupen as head coach. He was there until he was sacked in 2019 and after that, he moved to Chelsea as a technical mentor.

See Also: Mikel Obi: Net Worth, Salary, Biography, Age, And Family

Claude Makélélé Had A Great Career With The France National Team

Makélélé played for the French national team from July 1995. He represented them at the Olympic Games (1996) and World Cup (2002).

He retired from the national team in 2004 September but was ‘persuaded’ out of retirement twice to represent the nation in the 2006 World Cup and the Euro 2008 qualifiers and finals. On 17^th June 2008, Claude Makélélé finally retired from national football.

His best achievement with the French national team was a FIFA World Cup runner-up finish in 2006.

Who Is Claude Makélélé’s Wife?

For a long time, it was believed that Claude Makélélé’s wife was Neomie Lenoir. The two were together from 2004 till sometime in 2009, and they had a son named Kelyan Makelele who was born in January 2005.

Noemie is a 45-year-old successful French actress and model who has worked with top fashion brands like Next, Marks, Spencer, Victoria’s Secret, Tommy Hilfiger, and Gucci. Ann-Lou ‘Annie’ Leibovitz, the popular American portrait photographer also featured her in a work on the most successful models of the black race.

Following her breakup with Claude, it was reported that she tried to kill herself outside his home. It is still not clear if Neomie Lenoir was ever Makalele’s wife as she made it clear that they were never married.

From a previous relationship before Neomie, Claude had his only daughter named Shana.

What Is The Net Worth of Makelele? 

As regards his fortune, Claude Makélélé’s net worth as of 2022 is estimated at $55 million. A better part of his wealth was built from his career as a footballer.

As a football player, his total transfer fee was 36.40 million euros. He has a salary of about $22 million yearly.