Benjamin Mendy missed Manchester City's clash with Fulham through injury

France left back Mendy made it a day that two City supporters will never forget

Ben Kielty asked Mendy if he would have his photo taken with his young son

Rather than pose for a selfie outside the Etihad, he had something else in mind

When Manchester City fan Ben Kielty asked Benjamin Mendy if he would have his picture taken with his three-year-old son before Saturday's Premier League clash with Fulham, he was not expecting what happened next.

Rather than pose for a selfie outside the entrance to the Etihad Stadium, the injured French full-back had something else in mind.

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'He said – "you two can come in with me",' recalled stunned season ticket holder Ben, 27. What followed was one of the days of Ben and son Ben junior's lives as Mendy made the pair of them his guest of honour in the exclusive Tunnel Club for the 3-0 victory.

Benjamin Mendy poses with Ben Kielty and his three-year-old son on Saturday against Fulham

Mendy sat three-year-old Ben on his knee for the second half of the Premier League encounter

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'I don't tend to go in until right before kick-off because it's hard to keep Ben occupied,' explained lab technician Ben senior.

'We were walking past the main entrance to get to my seat and I saw Mendy walking in. He's my lad's favourite player because they have the same name so I asked if he'd have a picture taken with us. He just said: "is it just you two?". I said it was so he told us we were going in with him.'

World Cup winner Mendy, 24, led the father and son through to the exclusive, £15,000-a-season club and handed them both access all areas passes. 'I sat behind him and he turned round and told me we'd be sat on his table at half-time and asked us what we'd like to drink,' said Ben.

'I didn't want to take the mickey so Ben had a Coke and we sat with Mendy and his friends who were all really friendly.' For the second-half, things got even better. 'We went back out and he's picked up Ben and sat him on his knee to watch the second-half. Honestly, he's looked after him and talked to him for about 20 minutes. He didn't even hand him back – Ben junior just came back to sit with me when he wanted to.'

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The World Cup-winning left back and Ben Jnr watch the game together at the Etihad

The pair's memorable afternoon at the match continued after full-time. 'Mendy and his mates said I had to get something to eat with them after the game, so we went back in. They then ordered a bottle of champagne – Mendy wasn't drinking – and made sure I had a glass and Ben was given a goody bag. When it was time to go, I told Ben to go and say 'Merci, Benjamin'. He gave him a cuddle and told him he'd see him tomorrow!'

Ben, from Manchester, is full of praise for £52m Mendy, who is currently out with a knee injury. 'He was a normal, down-to-earth, friendly guy who did something he really didn't have to,' he explained.

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'He wasn't doing it for publicity, or anything like that, it was just a nice thing to do. I know footballers get a bad press but I cannot give him enough credit – he was absolutely brilliant.'

Ben was also left to reflect on his luck. 'It was just a strange sequence of events that led to something like this happening,' he said. 'I never pester players for photos – it was just because it was Mendy and he's Ben's favourite player.'

You would imagine, after his day to remember, he will never have another one.

Mendy missed the Fulham clash with a knee injury but was at the Etihad to cheer on his team