I met Zues in a bar in London in the winter of 2002.

A mutual friend introduced us and although he seemed like a very nice guy, we didn’t get along straight away.

I couldn’t wrap my head around his character. In one conversation he could go from the most polite and posh man in Britain to the most ratchet person in the club.

It took a few years and a few random encounters until we finally engaged into a more personal conversation, and surprisingly it didn’t take us long to start blabbering away. I was amazed at how many people this man knew. No matter where we went and when, there would always be someone coming up to Zues to greet him.

The first few times I stood up before the person had reached us, convinced that they wanted a picture or an autograph from me, as I was the one playing for Chelsea.

I learned the hard way that in London Village it was my mysterious mate who was the object of attraction.

Every club we turn up to, if Zues was with us, they roll out the red carpet for him, and trust me we hit more than one club per night.

In fact soon he’ll be opening his new club in London, called Tape London.

One day, while we were talking, Zues asked me where I lived. I told him that I lived off King’s Road and he said “No way mate! That’s where I live!”.

That day I found out that Zues had been living literally in the building behind mine for all these years.

The deal was done…

We started hitting the London streets together on a regular basis, mostly meeting up at this small shack beneath Harrods’s that made some of the most incredible lamb chops I have ever had.

They served them just the way I liked it, with a tiny bit of garlic butter and this French gratin with crunchy Gruyere cheese melted on top.

We used to sit there for hours, chatting about football, music and, of course, girls.

Man oh man, Zues can get girls.

He’s like honey to bees. I could just sit and watch for hours how they all came and went. I couldn’t believe the effect he had on women, they just loved him!

Now granted, he knows how to treat a woman, but I’m sure it was partly also his cool appearance that attracted the ladies.

Zues always had a style of his own, kind of a Lenny Kravitz meets Pharrell combination, and it sure as hell worked for him.

A few years into our friendship, Zues persuaded me into flying to Atlanta with him. Zues is in the music industry and me being the huge music freak that I am, loved every minute of it.

We went to concerts, hung out with some of the most influential people in the music industry and got to ride shotgun in the entourage’s car.

Flat out, we were ballin’…

We’ve now been friends for over 12 years and even though we live oceans apart and don’t get to see each other as often, no matter what time of the day I call him, he picks up and it’s just like old times.

“Real friends are hard to find, so if you have one make sure to hold on to them.”

#mmlove