Eager schoolchildren piled into Tesco Extra in Salford on Monday 18 April to get the chance to meet Manchester United’s softly-spoken Spanish midfielder Juan Mata.
Organisers were only expecting around 200 people but the announcement that the footballer was to appear at the superstore caused a right kerfuffle with a turnout of nearly 500.
Mata was in Salford to promote the Match Attax football cards, for which he is an ambassador.
Parents waited faithfully with their children as the queues snaked out of the door.
Carrie Daniels, who visited the store to grab a signature, said: “Mata arrived at 5pm and was only scheduled to be there for an hour but due to the number of people he extended his stay for an extra 45 minutes.
“The queuing started from around 3pm when the kids finished school and some were queuing for over an hour and a half to see him.”
Main image: Superfan Josh Clowes with Juan Mata
