Joe Cole gives bottle of Champagne to his old boss

Premier League footballer Joe Cole gave his man-of-the-match Champagne to his old boss after scoring against Harry Redknapp’s team on Saturday.

West Ham United star Joe Cole netted an equaliser against Queen’s Park Rangers when the two teams met at Upton Park. The goal denied Rangers, the Premier League’s bottom club, a much-needed win in its fight to avoid relegation to The Championship.

Cole re-joined West Ham just three weeks ago, but talked to Redknapp about joining his club before making his move from Liverpool.

The 31-year-old midfielder was awarded the man-of-the-match after the match, but sent the bottle of Champagne to Redknapp, who was in charge at West Ham when Cole signed as a schoolboy 20 years ago.

Cole said: “Harry is a top man. I’ll always be indebted to him for everything he did for me and the Champagne was a little gesture.

“I asked somebody to send it over on to the coach for him, so he can have a drink on the way back to Loftus Road.”