Wednesday 11 September 2019 23:23, UK
Vincent Kompany knows his testimonial will be an emotional affair, but jokes he is most looking forward to seeing who has remained in shape.
A host of Manchester City and Premier League legends are set to turn out for Kompany's testimonial at the Etihad Stadium, live on Sky Sports Premier League on Wednesday evening from 7pm; Kick-off at 7.45pm.
Kompany will, however, have to sit out of the game due to a hamstring injury.
In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports ahead of the game, the 33-year-old joked he wished the injured Leroy Sane could play and cause Gary Neville a headache at right-back, and is also eager to see how his former team-mates are shaping up after time out of the game.
He said: "There are so many old faces, and I want to see who is still in shape and who is not anymore! I remember a lot of conversations in the dressing room… 'What are you going to do when you stop playing?'
"Nigel de Jong is still playing, so I'll have to wait for another time with him, but I think he was going to go the other way! Those you think go one way, they don't, and the people you think go the other way, they don't!
"I'm looking forward to seeing whose in shape mainly, and reminiscing about the stories we still remember from the dressing room.
"It's unfortunate that Leroy Sane is out with a knee injury, because I would have put him on Gary Neville. My goal was to put the fastest winger I could find on Gary Neville's side! Unless he goes and hides at centre-back, we'll see."
Kompany, who captained Manchester City to four Premier League titles, left at the end of last season to return to boyhood club Anderlecht as player-manager.
Money raised from the match will go to Tackle4MCR - the initiative Kompany set up with the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, to address rough sleeping and homelessness in the city.
Kompany, sees himself as a honorary Mancunian, has a simple motive.
He said: "My kids are Mancs. There's a massive problem with homelessness in Greater Manchester. The city has grown incredibly well and rapidly, it's such a vibrant City, but it seems we have left a lot of people behind on that journey. It's just whether there's a way to impact this, to turn it around.
"Homelessness is a difficult issue to tackle. The first thing you always think about is: 'Should I go and give money to someone, would that make his life better?' It's a lot more complex than this.
"So it's all about finding the right partners, and we were lucky because to be fair to him, the Mayor Andy Burnham has been very committed to solve the issue of homelessness.
"We need to look as well at what kind of environment we want our kids to grow up in. We talk about all of these issues, and we have some issues we can actually solve and put to bed. This is one of them. It doesn't have to be forever. Just a small commitment from a number of people will mean a lot."
Manchester City Legends - managed by Pep Guardiola
Joe Hart, Costel Pantilimon - Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards, Kolo Toure, Pablo Zabaleta, Richard Dunne, Gael Clichy - Nigel de Jong, Samir Nasri, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Stephen Ireland, David Silva, Dietmar Hamann, James Milner - Craig Bellamy, Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli, Benjani
Premier League All-Stars XI - Managed by Roberto Martinez
Edwin van der Sar, Shay Given - Phil Neville, Gary Neville, John O'Shea, Wes Brown - Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Rafael van der Vaart, Cesc Fabregas - Thierry Henry, Robin van Persie
Watch Manchester City Legends vs Premier League All-Stars on September 11 from 7pm on Sky Sports Premier League; Kick-off 7.45pm
Money raised from the match will go to Tackle4MCR - the initiative that Kompany set up with the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, to address rough sleeping and homelessness in the city.
