IF I COULD SEE ME NOW

period of my career, the peak. Playing for Liverpool and in the World Cup for England.

I’ve moved around a lot as a player. It was a lot easier when I was single [Crouch is now married to model Abbey Clancy and has three children], although at times it was lonely. At Aston Villa, I lived in the Belfry hotel for three months before finding a flat. That’s a long time to be in a hotel – I’d literally eaten the menu 100 times. I didn’t even get to play any golf.

I’m 37 now, which in football terms is getting on a bit, but I feel great. I still love playing for Stoke, and come into training smiling and laughing. I’ll stay here until they kick me out.

At 10 years old, if you’d told me

I’d play for England and score over 100 Premier League goals, I’d never have believed it. Winning the FA Cup and getting to a Champions League final are some of my biggest achievements, but playing and scoring in a World Cup, that feeling was really unrivalled.

I’ve had to prove people wrong throughout my career, so it’s nice to be popular now. I feel like I’ve had to work harder than most to earn respect, even from my own fans. Maybe in a world where people take themselves too seriously, it’s nice to see someone who is obviously enjoying himself, and hopefully that comes across. Kids still ask me to do the robot [his famous goal celebration dance] wherever I go. I like a bit of fun, but that one really escalated. When I retire I’ll probably be remembered more for the robot than for my goals.

Interview by Tomé Morrissy-Swan

How to be a Footballer by Peter Crouch (Ebury) is available for £20 plus p&p from books. telegraph.co.uk

HIGH SPIRITSAs a schoolboy Peter Crouch loved football and tennis. Below, with Abbey Clancy, his wife