South Africa cricket captain Faf du Plessis said on Tuesday that a chance meeting with Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp had turned him into a fan.

Du Plessis was having dinner with Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi in a Cape Town restaurant in November when Klopp, on a private visit to South Africa, walked in.

Kolisi has been a long-time Liverpool fan and Du Plessis posted a picture on both Instagram and Twitter showing the two captains and Klopp, commenting that Kolisi had a “man-crush moment”.

“Did he recognise you?” asked a journalist at Du Plessis’s press conference. “No,” admitted Du Plessis. “But he said he watches cricket. The Liverpool guys watched the cricket World Cup and saw how well England did.”

Du Plessis said he had never been a close follower of football but meeting Klopp had changed that. “For someone to be that famous, he is a great guy and that’s what real leadership is about. It’s about connecting with people... so I’ve become a massive fan.'