Peter Crouch says he almost came to blows with good friend Rio Ferdinand during the heat of a Liverpool vs Manchester United match, but the pair can laugh about the incident now.
It was back in September 2005 when Crouch was in his first few weeks at then European champions Liverpool when he came face-to-face with United defender Ferdinand, who had become one of his England teammates a few months earlier.
Crouch was only making his fifth appearance for the Reds, and just starting out on what would become an infamous run of 19 matches before he scored his first goal for the club.
And the heat of the Liverpool vs United rivalry seemingly got to him during a goalless draw at Anfield, when he could be seen bellowing at Ferdinand.
"When you moved clubs as often as I did, there was always someone I knew in opposition," Crouch explained in his Mail Online Q&A column when he was asked if he had ever got close to coming to blows with one of his friends on the pitch.
"Put it this way - if you play 5-a-side against your mates, are you going to smash into them to get the ball? Of course you are!
"The closest I ever came to exchanging blows with someone on a pitch was Rio Ferdinand during a Liverpool-Manchester United game.
"We were England teammates at the time and he’s one of my closest friends now. When we think about the squabble now, it’s just something to laugh about."
These days Crouch and Ferdinand are punditry colleagues at BT Sport, often covering matches alongside one another and thankfully not coming anywhere close to coming to blows.
