France World Cup winner Marcel Desailly is adamant Aurelien Tchouameni's future is in Real Madrid's midfield.

The midfielder has been played at the back this season.

But Desailly told OkDiario: "Tchouaméni is a centre-mid, he grew up as a centre-mid. I grew up as a defender and I like the way Ancelotti has controlled and handled this matter with this group of players.

"Yesterday he had Nacho and Militao, who normally would have played, but still stayed on the bench and opted for him (Tchouameni). He no longer puts him there because someone is injured or something, he does it because he trusts him in that position.

"He is a great man who is prepared to sacrifice himself for the team. Especially in France. There is no chance that he will finish as a central defender. He will surely return to midfield after being more than useful to the team. Congratulations because he has had a lot of involvement and his performance has been very good."