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Peter Crouch has offered a belated explanation for why he nearly ran Dirk Kuyt over in a go-kart back in 2007.

Earlier this year, former Liverpool star Kuyt revealed that he was nearly taken out by his teammate ahead of the Champions League final in May 2007.

The Reds squad were on a short break in Portugal and decided to try their hand at a go-karting circuit when Kuyt was forced to jump to safety as Crouch hurtled towards him in the vehicle.

And after Kuyt delivered his side of the story back in January, Crouch has now admitted his Dutch colleague was targeted to avoid a collision with Xabi Alonso!

(Image: Phil Cole/Getty Images)

Speaking in January's edition of FourFourTwo magazine, Crouch said: "That happened just before the Champions League final.

"We were all at a training camp in Portugal and went to a go-karting track. I'd pulled into the pits and realised my brakes weren't working.

"I saw Xabi Alonso and Dirk Kuyt standing there, knew I would hit one of them and thought: 'who is the most valuable?'

"So I swerved into Kuyt and credit to him, he jumped out the way.

"I pulled back out onto the track, panicked and jumped out. The kart hit the wall and then burst into flames.

"I have no idea if it was a factor in Rafa's team selection ahead of the final..."

Giving his side of the story earlier this year, Kuyt said: "I didn’t join in, as I wanted to rest a small injury, but I went along to watch and picked a safe-looking spot to stand beside the track with Rafa.

"Out of nowhere, Peter Crouch drove straight at me at roughly 35mph. He couldn’t brake!

"The only think I could do was jump in the air, and in the end I just managed to jump over Peter, and he crashed into cardboard boxes behind me.

"I was within a whisker of having my ankles torn to pieces, and would surely have missed the Champions League final."

After avoiding injury in Portugal, Kuyt started the final against AC Milan as the Italians gained a measure of revenge for losing to the Reds two years earlier.

Filippo Inzaghi scored twice for the Serie A side before Kuyt headed in a stoppage-time consolation.

The full Crouch interview is available in the January 2018 edition of FourFourTwo.