I’m a chef who gave up my restaurant to work with Prem ace – here’s secret ingredient that has helped him win 9 trophies

PREMIER LEAGUE footballers often have strict diets but one superstar uses a special ingredient to get ahead.

Broth – for soup, to use in rice or even to DRINK.

That is the ingredient one Manchester City star eats every day, often multiple times.

His personal chef Diogo Prego is a big believer in the ingredient due to its health benefits, as he makes sure his client maintains a healthy diet.

Diogo told SunSport: “It is always in the freezer and I use it for soup, to cook rice and even to drink. Beef broth is very healthy and full of collagen.

“We use natural food like steaks, spinach, broccoli – all this healthy stuff.

“He does not eat sugar, we follow a healthy diet with lots of broth – broth that I prepare for him.”

No sugar means thinking outside the box when making snacks and cookies.

Diogo does his grocery shopping every day in Manchester's Northern Quarter to ensure the City star always eats the freshest ingredients.

The player he works for is a big fan of Poke bowls and Pad thai pre and post-match but his favourite is a cod dish from back home called Bacalhau à Brás – a mix of salt cod, potatoes, onions and eggs.

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Diogo is proud he has opened up the Prem winner to new dishes although he still likes his cheat meals – burgers and pizzas.

He continued: “Pre-match and post-match we need to do slow-absortion carbs, nice protein and fruits.

“Barley, homemade pasta. Post-match normally it is a poke bowl, it is full of omega three, carbs. It is great for recovery.

“I prepare all the time homemade protein bars, homemade cookies without sugar. Immunity boosts which I batch cook.”

Diogo was trained as a chef in Portugal and he quit a restaurant he owned for five years before getting to work with the City star.

He is happy to have the hard work and long hours of restaurant life behind him and has become friends with his client, even going to concerts with him.

However life working for a Prem star is not without its challenges.

Diogo added: “The only thing that makes me cook a little more than I was expecting is Beef Wellington. It's a pain in the a**.

“I have lots of things to prepare – snacks, broth, dinner – and I have to keep the kitchen and cupboard organised.

“One of the hardest parts of my job is trying to do new things every week.

“Trying to balance a nice menu is quite hard. Cooking every day different dishes it is hard to read a lot and watch a lot of food programmes. But he is not fussy so it is easy.”