Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
That virgin COUPLE joke follows me around ...maybe I would not have landed Abbey but I’d have done OK
Footie star Peter reflects on fame
like I’d won the World Cup. The problem is that having a few quid gives you the ability to make really ridiculous decisions. “Normally you’d learn these rites of passage in a quiet place but Premier League footballers do it in front of millions of people.” He was born in Cheshire but he and his family moved to Singapore when he was a baby and they settled in West London after returning from Asia a few years later.
Today, in charcoal jeans and a grey jersey, he is happy to admit his days of clubbing in Ayia Napa are behind him. “When you get to my age you feel comfortable to be able to say, ‘actually, lads, this is me’,” says Peter, who has three children – Sophia, seven, Liberty, three, and eight-month-old Johnny – with wife of seven years Abbey, 32.
And despite being surrounded by more tattooed colleagues than a Royal Navy admiral, the former Queens Park Rangers, Southampton, Portsmouth and Aston Villa player is adamant his skin will remain uninked.
“It’s just not for me. Abbey hasn’t got any either, but each to their own.”
With his gangly frame it’s a testament to his talent that he overcame his doubters and forged a top career in football. “The jokes about how I look have actually made me stronger.
“The crowd laughed and groaned when I came on for QPR. I was booed on my England debut and I’ve heard every insult under the sun but it’s made me a more resilient character and it’s given me the ability to take the p*** out of myself, which has become my most powerful weapon.”
It came to the fore with his amusing robot celebration, seemingly recently revived by the Prime Minister while dancing on her recent trip to Africa.
“I thought Theresa May wasn’t bad,” says Peter. “It was funny as it actually did look like the robot.”
One venue yet to witness his moves is the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom – so, could things become glittery in the years to come?
“I’m still enjoying playing football,” he says. “But in the future, I don’t know. I don’t want to take the shine off Abbey. She won it and I don’t want to win it and steal her thunder.”
How to be a Footballer by Peter Crouch, published by Ebury Press, is available to buy now.