West Ham midfielder Pedro Obiang admits he grew up wanting to be Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane.

Obiang concedes the Frenchman was a boyhood idol.

He told whufc.com: "Zinedine Zidane was my first football hero on the pitch.

"He was a midfielder, maybe not a midfielder like me, but he made me and many other people in the world enjoy football with the way he played.

"I tried every day to be like him when I was a child on the pitch and it was obviously not possible, but I did try to do things like he did them."

However, Obiang insists his big hero is his Mum.

He added: "The first hero I had in my football was my Mum, because when I was in difficult situations, she would try to help, even if she knew nothing about football!

"Sometimes, it's not the football itself that is the important thing, but rather having someone close to you who can give you the right words to keep you going."