Peter Crouch has admitted that he and wife Abbey Clancy were close to dying as their romantic champagne cruise in Sardinia turned "into a horror movie."
The 38-year-old former striker revealed in his new book, I, Robot: How to Be a Footballer 2, that the terrifying ordeal took place in 2009 as the couple struggled to free their boat and avoid the jagged rocks.
"I'd hired a little motorboat for just the two of us and we dropped anchor just off Porto Cervo to catch a few rays," he wrote (via the Daily Mirror).
"We'd cracked open the champers and were sunbathing on the deck when I became aware the weather had taken a sudden turn for the worse.
"I tried to grab the anchor but it was snagged on something and when I tried to put the boat in reverse nothing happened and we started to panic.
"The wind was sending waves thumping against the hull, spinning us round on our accidental mooring, swinging towards a shoreline that on closer inspection seemed to be made entirely of large, jagged rocks."
Cornered into desperation, Crouch recalled how he grabbed a corkscrew and started to hack away at the rope.
He explained: "Soon, there were more holes in my fingers than the ropes.
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"There was blood on the deck, panic in our throats.
"What had begun as a romantic gesture was turning into a horror movie and the rocks were getting closer and closer.
"But just as things were getting really desperate, the rope snapped and we roared away.
"I don't know whether we'd have died or not if we'd crashed into the rocks but it certainly wouldn't have done wonders for my good looks."
Crouch signed for Burnley in January and spent the remainder of the season with the Clarets before announcing his retirement in July.
The former Stoke City star's autobiography is slated to launch on 17th October.
SPORTbible caught up with Crouch at Wembley and he revealed the most embarrassing moment from his playing career.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Porto Cervo, Football News, Sardinia