EXCLUSIVE
Claude Makelele thinks Paul Pogba "has everything" he needs to lead France to glory at the World Cup next summer and believes he is Les Bleus' most important player.
Didier Deschamps' side face important World Cup qualifiers against the Netherlands and Luxembourg over the course of the next week as they aim to lift themselves out of qualifying Group A, which was opened up as Les Bleus suffered a shock 2-1 reverse against Sweden in June.
Makelele, who played 71 times for his country, believes Pogba will be a key figure both for these fixtures and for those in Russia 2018, should France qualify.
"I think that now Pogba understands the responsibility that he has when with the national team," Makelele told Goal. "I told him when I met him that he can take on the responsibility [of helping France win honours] because he is a great player. He has everything.
"He is tall, with great technique, he can score goals, he gets assists - he has everything. He shouldn’t be scared and he should just do the job."
Pogba has started the season well with Manchester United with two goals in his first three league, including a strike against the Swansea City side that Makelele is now assistant manager of. Now the former Chelsea midfielder wants him to step up to become a leader of a young squad that includes Kylian Mbappe, Thomas Lemar and Tiemoue Bakayoko.
"I am happy that the French national team has a lot of good players," he added. "I think in the future the national team will be better because they have so many young players now.
"These young players need to understand that when you wear the shirt of the national team that you need to die for this shirt. In my generation, everyone was dying for the shirt. You need to understand this.
"When you wear this shirt, you have the whole country behind you. The players need to understand that. I think when they understand that, then they will win the World Cup again."
