Frank Lampard struggled to hide his amusement when Didier Drogba reminded him that Marko Marin was among a number of players who forced Kevin de Bruyne out of Chelsea.
The 26-year-old has begun the World Cup in impressive form and was to the fore as Belgium thumped Tunisia 5-2 on Saturday to set up a likely group decider against England next Thursday.
Lampard was asked by BBC host Gary Lineker if the thought Chelsea failed to spot De Bruyne’s talent: ‘I don’t think they missed it [De Bruyne’s talent]. ‘The talent was there. We were there at the time and technically you could see everything he had.
‘The problem he had was there was an embarrassment of riches for Chelsea. ‘They had Hazard, Oscar, Mata, Schurrle.’ Lampard was then interrupted by Drogba who added ‘Marko Marin’ which prompted a knowing laugh from Lampard.
Marin joined Chelsea in the summer of 2012 and arrived with the nickname of the ‘German Messi’. He made just six Premier League appearances for the club and scored one goal. He moved on loan to Sevilla, Fiorentina, Anderlecht and Trabzonspor before finally ending his Chelsea nightmare two years ago by signing for Olympiakos.