John Terry suspected Kalidou Koulibaly was a prank caller and hung up on Chelsea's new centre-back when the Senegalese star asked to take his old shirt number.
Koulibaly had the 26 shirt at Napoli and was eager to retain it at Chelsea, but decided he should check that was OK with Terry.
No first-team player at Chelsea has worn 26 since Terry departed at the end of the 2016-17 season, so it was a courtesy call that Koulibaly considered important.
Terry eventually happily gave his blessing and urged the new recruit to bring in more trophies, yet Koulibaly revealed that initially the former Blues and England captain thought he had a rogue caller on the line.
The 31-year-old said: "I was nervous a bit because I was waiting to sign my contract in Chelsea. It happened the day before. I was happy, and the second thing is I wanted to know which number was free.
"Speaking with the team manager, he told me some numbers, and he didn't tell me the 26. I said that John left it in 2017 and nobody took it from this time. So I was asking myself if it was retired or maybe nobody wanted to take it."
Koulibaly turned to a former Napoli and Chelsea hero to get hold of Terry.
"I asked Gianfranco Zola, who I know very well, about the club, about the structure and the supporters, and I asked him for John's number because I wanted to ask for the jersey," Koulibaly said.
"I called him and at the beginning he didn't believe that it was me, he believed it was a joke. He put down the phone and called the team manager to ask if it was really me.
"I know that it's a very important number for him, and it's very important for me because I took it to Napoli and I wanted to keep it for here at Chelsea.
"When he told me 'yes', I was really happy because I know what he did for the club and the supporters and the city here, and I knew it was important to ask him. He gave me his answer and I was happy.
"I wanted to tell people I had asked him before, because I didn't want to be disrespectful to a legend of the club."
Chelsea begin their season on Saturday at Everton, who are bossed by another Stamford Bridge great in Frank Lampard, as the Premier League gets under way.
Koulibaly, speaking in a news conference on Wednesday, said former Blues coach Antonio Conte had tried to sign him for Chelsea in 2015, but this time "the stars were in a good line".
"This team is a fantastic team of winners, of big stuff. I want to give them everything on the pitch," Koulibaly said. "I'm 31 with a good club in a good city. I hope I will stay here a long time."
He said it was important not to expect him to directly match up to Antonio Rudiger, who moved on to Real Madrid at the end of last season.
Comparisons are bound to be made, given he will be taking Rudiger's spot in central defence, but Koulibaly said: "I'm Koulibaly. I'm not Rudiger. I don't have the same skills, I don't play like him. I have another style.
"I will try to do my best and try to give solidity to the team. I know it will be difficult because I come from Italy and Premier League football is difficult. But I'm very motivated and want to show everybody Chelsea made a good choice with me."
Fonseca targets statement Milan win over Real Madrid
Milan have no need to fear Real Madrid and their coach Paulo Fonseca is targeting a statement win in the Champions League.
Despite having won more Champions League/European Cup titles (seven) than any other club apart from Madrid (15), it has been 17 years since Milan last lifted the trophy in 2007.
On the other hand, holders Madrid have won the Champions League six times since 2013-14.
But Fonseca sees no reason to fear Los Blancos at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Carlo Ancelotti's side were recently hammered 4-0 by Barcelona.
"We're playing against a team that aspires to win the Champions League every year and for us it's a great opportunity to grow," Fonseca said.
"We'll play without fear of anything, with courage, because we believe we can play a great game and do great things.
"I always transmit to my team the desire to win and tomorrow will be no different. Real Madrid are a great team, but we will go out there thinking about winning. After that, anything can happen, but that's the mentality.
"To win a match like this, we have to defend well, have possession of the ball and create dangerous situations. A match against Real Madrid is a chance to show the world our quality and the way we are growing."
Madrid are 12th in the 36-team Champions League table with six points, while Milan are languishing in 25th spot – just outside the play-off places – with three points after three games.
Fonseca explained Milan had carefully studied Barcelona's 4-0 win over Madrid in last month's Clasico.
"I saw the derby, it's impossible not to watch it. They are teams I like to watch and I paid close attention to the game," Fonseca said.
"We are different from Barcelona but it was important to see Real Madrid's intentions against them because Barca have a similar way of defending with us. We made the whole team watch the game.
"It is the match between the two clubs that have won the Champions League the most. There are many games in the continent that are big, but this one is obviously something special, a match between two clubs that are attractive.
"We hope to put on a good show for people who enjoy good football."
Milan are winless in their last three Champions League games against Madrid (D2 L1) since they won 3-2 in October 2009 with goals from Andrea Pirlo and Alexandre Pato.
Madrid have won five of their seven home matches against Milan in the competition (D1 L1), beating them 2-0 in the most recent such match in October 2010.
Girona have little to lose and everything to gain, says Michel
Girona have plenty to gain and little to lose when they visit PSV in the Champions League, coach Michel claimed.
Despite securing a maiden European triumph over Slovan Bratislava last month, Girona are still struggling to find their best form, dealing with a long list of players out injured.
Following a LaLiga win over Leganes on Saturday, Michel said his players may not be full of energy but have the mentality to look for points at the Philips Stadion.
A positive result could be vital, given Girona then take on the likes of Liverpool, Milan and Arsenal.
"We have a lot to win and little to lose," Michel said ahead of Girona's first ever meeting with PSV.
" We are playing against a historic team with European titles. We don't come with all the energy I want, but we do come with a mentality.
"We need the points and, of course, every game is important. I don't know how high the bar will be to get into the top (places) but we are on a privileged stage and we will compete."
Girona occupy the 24th and final play-off place in the 36-team Champions League table, with three points from three games. PSV are in 28th with two points.
"We have to try to be the ones who dominate and who have the ball. We have to try to make them look towards their goal, if we give them control it will be very difficult for us to keep up the pace and hold them off," Michel added.
"PSV have been practically unbeaten at home for two years in a row. They are a great team with tremendous pressure and pace.
"We know how difficult it will be and if we want to get anything out of them we have to match their intensity."
Spanish teams have lost all four of the away games they have played in the Champions League this season.
PSV, on the other hand, are unbeaten in their last five home matches in the UEFA Champions League; their longest run without a home defeat in the competition since December 2005 (11 games). However, four of the five games in their current run have ended in stalemates (W1), including each of the last three.
Silva grateful Fulham's dominance was rewarded with late win
Marco Silva believes Fulham claimed a "deserved win" against Brentford, though admits they should have secured the three points much earlier in their 2-1 victory.
It looked like Vitaly Janelt's 24th-minute strike against the run of play was going to wrap up all three points for Brentford, but Harry Wilson proved the Cottagers' hero off the bench, scoring twice in stoppage time to snatch the three points.
Fulham had dominated from the first whistle and had 26 shots, 12 of which were on target, though they struggled to find a way past their opponents' staunch defence until the 92nd minute.
Wilson became just the sixth player to score an equalising and match-winning goal from the 90th minute onwards in the Premier League, while his second goal was Fulham's latest-ever Premier League winner at 96:46.
Silva was delighted with how his team pushed until the final seconds to ensure they came away with a win.
"It was definitely a deserved win. We started on the front foot and dominated all the game. In the first 20 minutes, we had two clear chances to score," Silva told BBC Sport.
"After they scored, we didn't lose the confidence and the trust in ourselves, we kept pushing them back, and we created enough to not be losing at half-time.
"I told the players this is football, it can happen, but we have to keep pushing, working hard and playing our way.
"It was late, it should've been much before, but that's football."
Brentford, meanwhile, have now dropped a league-high 14 points from winning positions in the Premier League as they suffered a fifth consecutive away defeat in the competition.
In fact, they are the first side in the competition's history to score the first goal in four consecutive away games and lose all four.
They had defended resolutely until their late lapse in concentration, and even had a chance to win it, only for Bernd Leno's impressive save to keep out Fabio Carvalho in the 95th minute.
Thomas Frank, though, admitted he was not yet ready to take the positives from the performance after the disappointment of their late defeat.
"It was tough. It is emotionally very tough right now," Frank told Sky Sports.
"When you are leading in the 92nd minute, and you lose, it is tough. I don't think we hit our highest level. I think on the day Fulham were better.
"There was a lot of good defending and effort, and I thought that would have given us the win. We could have won it with the chance for Fabio Carvalho and then we lost.
"When we look at the game back, and we are more cool-headed, we will probably be very happy with the defensive standard. I thought there were unbelievable blocks, and recovery runs and all that we did well. On the ball, we didn't do enough."
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