An aspiring young footballer rubbed shoulders with the cream of the English game during a glamorous trip to Wembley Stadium.

Nine-year-old Zachary Sutherland, who lives just off Wigton Road in Carlisle, was selected to be a mascot for his beloved Manchester United as they faced off against Premier League champions Leicester City on Sunday in the Community Shield.

The Dalston Black Reds’ player led United’s new £30m star Eric Bailly onto the Wembley pitch ahead of the game – the traditional curtain raiser to the new top flight season.

The youngster proved to be somewhat of a good luck omen for the defender as he picked up the man of the match award in their 2-1 win.

He also met a number of other superstars and legends of the game, including Utd manager Jose Mourinho – who has also led clubs including Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Chelsea – and England World Cup winner Bobby Charlton.

Zachary’s dad Ian told The Cumberland News : “While down there he met the Man Utd team, Jose Mourinho, Bobby Charlton and England manager Sam Allardyce. He had a great time.

“It was a dream come true. The kids were all absolutely buzzing.”

The opportunity came after Zachary was entered into a McDonald’s competition which looked to find 22 player escorts for the big match.

The family then found out about two weeks ago that he’d been selected from scores of applicants and hurriedly made plans to travel down to the capital.

Zachary’s dad, mum Andrea and 16-year-old brother Craig were all able to watch on from top class seats near the Wembley tunnel.

After Zachary had finished mixing with the game’s elite he took up a seat with his family to enjoy watching his team bring home the first trophy of the football season.

It’s not the first time that the St Michael’s Primary School pupil has led out a group of professional footballers.

Last October he accompanied Carlisle United captain Danny Grainger onto the Brunton Park turf ahead of the Blues’ game against Exeter City.

His trip to Wembley last week was the second time he’d been to the home of English football having gone to see England versus Peru two years ago.

On that occasion England won 3-0 thanks to goals from Daniel Sturridge, Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill.