The Spaniard has admitted it can be tricky to say his international team-mate's name ahead of facing him at the weekend
Manchester United’s Juan Mata has joked that it makes perfect sense to refer to former Chelsea team-mate Cesar Azpilicueta as ‘Dave’ ahead of a reunion when the clubs meet on Saturday.
Ex-Red Devils boss Louis van Gaal was the butt of jokes after inadvertently referring to defender Chris Smalling as ‘Mike’ on two occasions, but Mata is fully aware of his Spain colleague’s correct title.
Indeed, due to the difficulty in pronouncing his name, Azpilicueta has been given the rather simpler English moniker since moving to England from Marseille in 2012.