Morrissey wished England all the best for the forthcoming World Cup during their stay in Miami last week – although it seems the vast majority of the squad had no idea who he was.
Speaking to the Mirror, left-back Leighton Baines reveals how we was left a bit starstruck when he noticed the former Smiths frontman was staying in the same Florida hotel as the team, but found his excitement shared only by coach Gary Neville.
“I was a bit nervous about going to speak to him to be honest,” Baines says. “I wasn’t sure how it would be received.”
“I don’t know if he knew me and, to be honest, I didn’t really ask. I was one of the few in the squad who actually knew who he was, which was disappointing enough. I was the only who went over.
“We kept it really brief. I had to get really geed up just to go over and say hello to him. I don’t think anyone else in the squad even recognised him. Oh, Gaz Nev did, but that was it. I knew he’d played the night before and that he had a couple of gigs coming up, so I mentioned those and he wished us good luck.”
England are now in Brazil and kick-off their tournament on Saturday against Italy.