Boss, gaffer, guvnor, mister: there are plenty of names to call your manager. But not too many players would get away with calling their coach ‘daddy’. That’s exactly what Real Madrid loanee Michael Essien calls Jose Mourinho, and he’ll be rolling out the nickname once again after moving to the Santiago Bernabeu from Chelsea.

In an interview with Real Madrid TV, Essien casually slips a mention of his daddy into conversation, prompting the inevitable question.

Asked why he called Mourinho that, he said: “Because he’s my daddy. No, he’s like a daddy to me.

“He knows me very well and he knows what I can do, and stuff. And working under him was great, so I’m very happy to be working under him again.”