Only one opponent ever scared Peter Crouch, he didn't even want to face him

Former England striker Peter Crouch has revealed the only footballer that he was scared of during his long career.

Crouch enjoyed a career that spanned more than 20 years and played for the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Southampton and Stoke City.

On the international stage, Crouch made a total of 42 appearances for England.

During his long career, the 6ft7 frontman has been up against a range of different characters on the pitch.

However, Crouch revealed that the only player to ever scare him was former Rangers, Wolves and Millwall defender Kevin Muscat.

Speaking on his own ‘The Peter Crouch Podcast’, Crouch said: “Kevin Muscat scared me. You know people would say ‘I’m going to break your legs’ - when he would say it, you genuinely believed him.”

Whilst Crouch’s co-host added: “My seven-year-old asked me who is the dirtiest player of all time. I’ve gone straight to YouTube and typed Kevin Muscat in and let him see the horrors. He understood.

“You can get one-off Kevin Muscat horrors. You can get the best of Kevin Muscat, which is the worst of Kevin Muscat. It’s terrifying.”

According to talkSPORT, Muscat was once labelled as ‘the most hated man in football’ after building a reputation from his no-nonsense approach.

Back in 2004, ex-Charlton midfielder Matty Holmes was awarded £250,000 by the High Court after an awful challenge by Muscat left Holmes needing skin grafts and a metal bolt in his ankle.

Other incidents involving Muscat included stamping on Danny Webber’s head, elbowing Gold Coast United man Jason Culina and threatening to break Ashley Young’s legs when he was a youngster at Watford.

In total, Muscat received 123 yellow cards and 12 red cards throughout his professional career. He was also voted as ‘football’s dirtiest ever player’ by Spanish news outlet El Gol Digital back in 2013.