Nelson Mandela told me to marry his daughter - Kelvin Prince Boateng

Kevin-Prince Boateng recently recalled that moment Nelson Mandela told him his daughter wanted to marry him. The player met the former South African president after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup with Ghana.

As one of the stars of the team Boateng was in demand after Ghana's dream run at the tournament, and he was delighted when he had the chance to meet the late Mandela.

Boateng explained how Madiba was one of three people he'd always wanted to meet, alongside Michael Jackson and Muhammad Ali.

"I only met one, and it’s hard to describe," he said. "It’s just joy. Mandela was in prison for 27 years just because he stood up for his rights and he sits there and has no anger inside. He should be angry with the whole world, but he wasn’t. He’s calm, just there in his little seat saying hello to everybody. He makes you feel calm. He was shining. It’s like a movie. It’s like an angel sitting there.”

Boateng had fought with what he was going to say to Mandela, but the Ghanaian was put at ease immediately after meeting him. Boateng said: "We go into the room: ‘Hello... hello... hello.’ He shook my hand, pulled me towards him and said: ‘My daughter wants to marry you.’ I said: ‘Sorry I already have a girlfriend.’ He said: ‘No, no but I have others, more beautiful.’ Everyone was laughing."

He also recalled what it was like to link up with Zlatan Ibrahimovic when he joined the San Siro club from Portsmouth in 2010. Boateng added: “You think he’s this arrogant, big f***** and completely not a nice guy but he’s the opposite: laughing all the time, cracking jokes. On the pitch, he’s very serious, very professional. But off it, the funniest guy ever.”