“HARRY REDKNAPP TOLD ME NOT TO DO A BACKFLIP WHEN I SCORED. I FORGOT AND GOT INJURED – HE WASN’T HAPPY”

You grew up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo before moving to England – how did you become a footballer?

“BOBBY ROBSON CAUGHT ME BUSTING HIS CAR AND I SAID, ‘I’LL KEEP DOING IT UNTIL YOU PLAY ME!’”

I actually never wanted to play football. I was more into gymnastics when I was younger. It was a friend who first put the idea in my head that I was going to become a footballer, and when my schoolteacher watched me play, he didn’t want me to continue with gymnastics. When I did get into football, though, I always knew I was somehow going to make it to the top one day.

You became well known for your acrobatic goal celebrations, so you never abandoned that gymnastic ability…

It’s a funny story. When