When the transfer window closes on Tuesday after being dominated by the shenanigans of Dimitri Payet, Diego Costa and the Chinese Super League, it will be interesting if any of today’s players raise a glass to Sir Stanley Matthews the next day, on what would have been his 102nd birthday.
Without Sir Stanley, the game’s first globally-recognised figure, it is doubtful any of the current generation would be able to enjoy a lifestyle akin to Hollywood royalty.
Not only was he football’s inaugural European Footballer of the Year and knight of the realm, his popularity meant he was also the first ‘brand’ able to earn money as a celebrity.