As Mike Phillips flicks through photographs of his new life in Dubai, he reaches an album from a 5-a-side football tournament in the desert last summer. Phillips was tasked with marking Luis Figo and, against the odds, the Welshman’s team won.
‘You see plenty of footballers out here,’ he explains. ‘My wife is best friends with Nicolas Anelka’s wife from back in France and they used to live a couple of blocks away. We spent a bit of time together. It was interesting to hear him explain why Fernando Torres was so much more successful at Liverpool than Chelsea, and how teams handle big personalities.