The former France midfielder, who won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups during his five years at Stamford Bridge, believes the current ownership group led by Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly has failed to build the kind of settled first team that allowed players like him to thrive and young talent to develop around them.
"Chelsea has always developed players, always produced young talent, but always on one condition: before the kids come through, there has to be something to come through into," Makelele said.
"A talented, competitive first team, where youth is blended with great players. That's Chelsea's DNA, and that's what the club needs."
Makelele was careful not to dismiss BlueCo's approach entirely, acknowledging their right to chart a new course, but insisted the ownership group could not simply lean on what was already in place when they arrived.
"The new owners have their own projects, of course," he said. "But you cannot simply take what we built at Chelsea and surf on it.
"That sends a terrible message to the fans, to the people who love this club. And we've seen the results: out of the Big Four, struggling in Europe, humiliated at times. It's frustrating, and it's not the Chelsea we know."
The comments land amid ongoing uncertainty over the club's ownership structure, with chairman Boehly and investment partner Mark Walter said to be in talks with majority shareholders Clearlake Capital over a deal to offload their combined stake, which accounts for more than a quarter of the business.
Makelele's remarks add to a growing chorus of former players and pundits questioning the direction of the club since Roman Abramovich's departure, with the Frenchman's own connection to Chelsea's most successful modern era, under Jose Mourinho, lending particular weight to his criticism.