I was set to join Stoke but Pulis called me fat and my car was broken into… no f***ing way I’d play for them after that | The Sun

FORMER Premier League midfielder Steve Sidwell has admitted that he once rejected a move to Stoke because someone broke into his car.

The ex-Arsenal and Chelsea star spent two years with the Potters after joining from Fulham in 2014.

But he could have joined the club a lot sooner had he not experienced a stroke of bad luck.

When discussing his first meeting with then-manager Tony Pulis on an episode of That Peter Crouch Podcast, Sidwell said: "I nearly signed for him, years and years ago.

"We were across the table [from one another] and he lent over and went, 'we need to get rid of some of this puppy fat, son'.

"I was like, 'wow', and I'm like trim as well, I'm thinking, 'Jeez, pre-season's going to be brutal'.

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"What happened as well, when I got back to my car, I parked at the stadium at Stoke, someone broke into my car. The back window was all smashed in.

"[Stoke staff] were all apologetic, they came out and said, 'I'm so sorry, hopefully this doesn't affect whether you're going to sign for us', and I'm like, 'no of course not' – [I then] jumped in the car [thinking] there's no f***ing way I'm signing for them!"

Sidwell joined Arsenal's academy at the age of nine and spent six years in North London before joining Reading in 2003.

He then went on to sign for boyhood club Chelsea in 2007, where he played under the management of Jose Mourinho.

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During his appearance on the podcast, the 40-year-old recalled the moment he met the then-Blues boss for the first time.

Sidwell revealed that Mourinho had invited him to his house, but they had an awkward exchange before talking about Chelsea.

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