Alan Shearer has revealed he was floored by a forest run during his first pre-season with Newcastle United because he was 'awful' at long-distance running.
Newcastle, of course, won the race to sign Shearer in the summer of 1996 after the Gosforth native spoke to both his boyhood club and Manchester United.
It was easy to see why Blackburn Rovers demanded a world-record transfer fee for Shearer: the No 9 had just won the Golden Boot at Euro '96 and had scored at least 34 goals in each of his previous three seasons at Ewood Park.
Blackburn wanted £15m up front but Newcastle ended up having to part with a further £600,000 because the Magpies were only able to pay the mammoth fee in two separate installments.
Shearer certainly proved value for money, going on to become Newcastle's all-time record goalscorer, but even the world's most expensive footballer had a weakness.
"I hated running - particularly in training," Shearer told the Match of the Day: Top 10 podcast.
"I remember when I signed for Newcastle, Kevin took us, the rest of the team, on a bit of a forest run. I must have been a mile behind.
"We finished it and Kevin pulled me to one side and he said, 'Is there any chance you can...?' I said, 'I can't. That is me. I cannot get up'.
"I can do 10, 20, 30-yard sprints and have a rest and what have you, but I just hated the long-distance running. I was awful at it."
