Premier League cult hero Zenden’s brother-in-law played for rival as he reveals seven-word warning for dating his sister

PREMIER LEAGUE cult hero Boudewijn Zenden has revealed the warning he gave to brother-in-law John Heitinga.

Zenden played for the likes of Chelsea, Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Sunderland during his career.

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Boudewijn Zenden’s sister Charlotte-Sophie is married to John Heitinga, right[/caption]

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John Heitinga and his wife Charlotte-Sophie[/caption]

But what many may not know is that his sister Charlotte-Sophie is married to ex-Everton defender Heitinga.

Zenden told Ladbrokes Fanzone: “I’m not sure whether many people in the UK know the link between John and myself… obviously everyone in Holland knows.

“It’s funny how our careers went, when you look at our relationship today; I played for Liverpool, he went to Everton, he started off at Ajax, I started off at PSV.

“We did play together in the Euros in 2004, and that’s when my sister and him first met up, and they’ve been together ever since.”

Despite striking up a friendship with Heitinga on and off the pitch, Zenden still gave him a stern warning about dating his sister.

He revealed: “How did it come about?

“I don’t remember whether he asked for my sister’s number or my sister asked for his number – I guess the only thing I really said to him was, ‘You’d better be good to my sister!'”

Zenden retired in 2011 and briefly went into management afterwards, last working as assistant coach at Dutch side Jong PSV in 2015.

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Similarly, Heitinga turned to coaching after he hung up his boots in 2016 following a season back at Ajax.

In 2023, he joined David Moyes‘ coaching staff at West Ham, having worked with the Scot during his time with Everton.

The Hammers are without a win in six Premier League games, since they beat Arsenal 2-0 in December.

But in the return fixture last weekend, the Gunners got their own back with a 6-0 hammering.

Zenden said: “I haven’t spoken with John since the Arsenal defeat, but I’m sure you can imagine what that dressing room would have been like at half-time, 4-0 down at home, having conceded three goals just before the break.

“There’s really not a lot you can do at that point in the game to turn things around, especially against a team like Arsenal.”