After all, as the inform O’s frontman puts it: “When he was winning Champions Leagues and Premier Leagues, I was doing 12-hour shifts in a factory and playing Non-League for £50 a week.
“To wind forward a few years and be on the same team as him in training was an unbelievable experience.
“At first, people thought ‘what’s he doing here, it’s Yaya Toure?!’. But he became one of us.
“He was telling stories about his career, playing with Messi and all the top players, and he answered all our questions.”
The former Barcelona and Manchester City star’s stint in east London to help maintain his fitness may have been brief but the O’s were suitably buoyed by the sprinkling of stardust as both they and Johnson started the campaign in fine form.
Stardust
This story is from the November 08, 2020 edition of The Football League Paper.
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This story is from the November 08, 2020 edition of The Football League Paper.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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