West Ham fan dines with Manuel Pellegrini
Hammers fan Jon Benjamin posted on Twitter to his 90,000 followers “A fabulous gossipy dinner at home this evening with my friend Manuel Pellegrini and our Chilean wives. I still can’t quite believe that someone I know so well is now manager of the team I’ve supported all my life!”
He later added translated another Tweet from Spanish saying “I’m basically saying I’ve found the man to help West Ham win the Champions League next season”
Benjamin was brought up in Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire, and attended Slough Grammar School before reading German and Swedish at the University of Surrey. He began his diplomatic career with the Foreign Office started in 1986 as a junior official in Pakistan, and has also been posted to Indonesia, Turkey, Washington and New York.
He served as Britain’s Ambassador in Chile (2009 to 2014) which is where he struck up his friendship with Pellegrini. In 2014 he became the High commissioner for Ghana where he also struck up a friendship with former Hammer Andre Ayew.
He is now the Director of the Foreign Office Diplomatic Academy.
When Claret and Hugh contacted Jon to ask what Pellegrini and he discussed over dinner Jon replied: “Can’t really say as we speak as friends in confidence but he’s very happy with the set-up and is raring to go”