SUN JIHAI is not the most immediately recognisable of footballers, despite his star status in Asia, but at a banquet held in honour of the President of the People’s Republic of China at Buckingham Palace, the Queen apparently had no problem establishing who the Manchester City player was.

As arguably China’s most famous footballer, Sun and his wife, Jia-Yu, were invited to attend the banquet for the state visit of Hu Jintao on Tuesday evening. And when the time came for Sun to meet Her Majesty, the Queen acknowledged him straight away, apparently telling him: “You are the Chinese footballer, how are you getting on?”

Whether or not the Queen is a fan of Chinese football or the Barclays Premiership is unclear, but Sun, who wore a black tuxedo with white waistcoat and bow-tie, was bowled over because she recognised him and said that it was an experience that will live long in the memory. In fact, his only regret after an unforgettable evening, which left him feeling “on top of the world”, was that he had not had his hair cut beforehand.

“I asked him about getting his hair cut, but he doesn’t trust the hairdressers in England and always goes back home to China to have it done,” Wing Shing Chu, Sun’s interpreter and a restaurateur in Manchester, said yesterday.

“I think he wished he had now and he would have loved to have had a picture taken with the Queen, but he said it was a great honour for him to be invited to such a prestigious banquet and that it was a wonderful occasion.”

Sun flew to China yesterday afternoon to join the national squad before their friendly against Serbia and Montenegro on Sunday, presumably still stuffed after wading his way through a menu that featured fillet of sole with tomato, truffle and white wine sauce, noisettes of lamb served with artichokes and potatoes and chocolate mousse with rum and ratafia biscuits.