Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce was defrauded out of more than £13,000 by a man claiming to be a champagne salesman, a court has heard.
Stephen Ackerman, 48, denies 18 charges of defrauding then-West Ham United manager Allardyce, as well as 12 Hammers players and staff members, in December 2014.
"I went and chatted away with Stephen and we talked about champagne and wine, which he said he could get," Allardyce told an East London court via video link. "I said he could then deal with Anita, my PA, for the payment of those goods. Then I went off training with the lads.
"He was extremely smart, very well spoken and he set his stall up exceptionally well.
"There was a very good array of good quality products for sale. A good salesman; excellent in terms of how he would sell his goods and how good the value was, and obviously they would get delivered to you at a later date."
Allardyce told the court that he had placed an order for six bottles of Laurent Perrier rose champagne and six bottles of Sancerre wine at a cost of £270 before unauthorised fraudulent activity totalling £13,000 took place in the following days.
The alleged fraud against the Hammers staff eventually totalled £61,650.
Neil Wilkes
