SALIF Diao has warned Stoke City fans not to wind up his ‘eccentric’ former Senegal international team-mate El-Hadji Diouf today.

Diao spent many years alongside Diouf in the Senegal squad before the Blackburn Rovers man’s retirement from international football, and the pair also joined Liverpool together in a £15m double deal after the 2002 World Cup.

They have gone their separate ways since then but the pair remain friends and Diouf will line up alongside Rovers team-mate Benni McCarthy in an Africa versus Europe anti-racism charity game in Turin on Monday, December 21, with part of the proceeds going to Diao’s children’s charity Caap Afrika.

And Diao, who will be hoping for a place in the Stoke midfield to face Diouf today, has warned the travelling Potters fans not to give his old mate any extra motivation.

“He is a really top class player, but he loves the adversity,” said Diao.

“If he’s not having a good day, he will do everything to provoke the fans and everyone else around him to help him raise his game.

“I would advise fans, whatever you do, just leave him alone. Don’t wake him up.

“He always needs to watch himself because, whatever he does or says, people will always blame him.

“But I know him personally and he is a very good lad, even if he is a bit eccentric.

“He likes to be the centre of the world and that can be good because he does very good things for charity. He’s a smashing lad.

“But in another way it can be something not nice, and that’s why he needs to be careful and try to avoid those things.

“He has hot blood so if people provoke him, he will react straight away. He’s not scared about being in the eyes of everyone – he loves it.”