“The first time I was here, I was having dinner with Sir Alex Ferguson. I’m not sure anyone knows that.”



Laurent Robert is sitting at a table at Le Bistro Romain, at a window seat overlooking Montpellier’s Lez river. We have spent the morning together and he is now reflecting upon a “wonderful” career, recalling the moment in the mid-1990s that bolstered his youthful belief he would make it to the top.



“I was in my early years as a professional when Mr Ferguson came to visit,” Robert explains, as he tucks into his lunch of veal a la Milanese with spaghetti, to which he adds a liberal helping of Tabasco sauce. “I was still a young player, doing well for Montpellier, and Mr Ferguson came to watch me and a couple of team-mates.



“I didn’t speak much English, but my agent, Pape Diouf, was there. Mr Ferguson told us that we were good players; he wanted me to know that Manchester United were...