Marcel Desailly will be Special Guest at the Chelsea Pitch Owners' Annual Lunch next week. We spoke to former defenders Ken Monkou and Paul Elliott to get their thoughts on the French legend.

Desailly arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 1998, just as the Premier League was beginning to develop into the world's top league. There is little question that talents like his helped this evolution.

Now, Marcel resides in Paris, capital city of his adopted nation for whom he won 116 international caps, 74 of them as a Chelsea man.

'People didn't realise how good he was,' said Elliott, himself a defender of the finest pedigree with experience in Italy.

'I saw a lot of his football when he was at AC Milan and Marseille before he came to Chelsea, and he had such an illustrious career. It is hard to imagine having been at two great clubs previously and giving Chelsea such distinguished service.

'His contribution on the field was spectacular. We use the term lightly, but he was a proper world class player for many years. He has been a great leader, and a great inspiration. I am sure he has left a fantastic legacy at the club.'

Monkou is equally complimentary about the Ghanaian-born Desailly.

'He was a fantastic player and a wonderful ambassador for the club. The whole thing he helped to bring with the cultural ideas helped build the foundation of where Chelsea Football Club is now,' he said.

Desailly was not just a leader on the pitch, but also a popular man away from it. Elliott is a personal friend.

'He's also a great guy, has a great sense of humour and loves the English culture and environment,' he said. 'Foreign players thrived at Chelsea, maybe with living in London as well and he is a big city, big club player. He really embraced life here and he quite openly recognises Chelsea as one of the most rewarding times in his career.'

Tickets are still available for the Park Lane event on Friday, 28 November, now in its 14th year. It is a place where fans and Chelsea heroes come together to enjoy an afternoon of memories and entertainment, to be provided by comic and Chelsea fan Omid Djalili.

Elliott and Monkou are both regulars, and will this year be joined by a host of former Blues. Already confirmed are Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Charlie Cooke (flying in from America) and Peter Bonetti.

'It is very good fun, and very good to catch up former team-mates and friends who have played for Chelsea,' Monkou said.

'Paul Canoville, who I recently met up with again at Stamford Bridge was there as well so there were a few people and it was good to see the people I knew from the club in some capacity.

'It is nice to be bridging the gap that came about between players and supporters, and having the old boys there is nice to talk to and reminisce about the old days but also talk about the new players and what is going on at the moment, that's quite a good thing,' he smiled.

'It's a very prestigious event. It's what Chelsea is about, brings together current players with ex-players, supporters and staff. Collectively it is a tremendous agenda and the whole reason behind it all to protect the long-term interests of the club,' Elliott added.

'I went last year and was amazed that from my generation you had Ken, Gareth Hall, Jason Cundy, David Lee, all players I hadn't seen for a number of years. It was a great time to sit and have a drink and remember the good old days.'

You can still snap up your ticket for what promises to be a memorable afternoon. To find out more click here.