Snubbing university, genetics testing for supplements, Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho - Chris Smalling is not your ordinary footballer.

Chris Smalling and Jose Mourinho celebrate Roma's semi-final victory against Leicester on the way to winning the UEFA Conference League in 2022 When Chris Smalling was publicly criticised by Jose Mourinho almost 10 years ago, you would not have predicted the pair would still be in touch now. When Mourinho was appointed Real Madrid boss earlier this summer, Smalling was quick to send his two-time former boss a good luck message. To outsiders, his relationship with Mourinho is characterised by a public criticism from the Portuguese in November 2016 around an unwillingness to play through an injury. "For [Manchester] United or Roma, Jose picked me for most games because we had a good relationship and he trusted me. "It's very easy to influence younger players but the beauty of Sir Alex [Ferguson] and Jose is that they were able to create that belief in senior players. "A lot of managers can give good team talks but if you look at someone eye-to-eye, see the passion and real belief that 'it's going to happen', senior players follow and the rest lock in. That's the beauty of top-class managers. "In that situation, I was having injections in a broken toe because he had created that mentality in me that I could do anything, even if, maybe, I shouldn't.