Nicolas Anelka says singing in front of his Chelsea teammates was the scariest thing in his career.

It happened when the French international striker moved to the West London club from Bolton in a £15million deal.

He was told he had to perform a song in front of the full Blues squad in a "rites of passage" tradition.

But 30-year-old Anelka said he was petrified at the prospect.

He added: "There was more pressure doing that than anything in football, including taking a penalty. I had to stand on a chair above the other players and perform."

Anelka told Icon magazine he chose a French rap number.

A source said: "It was quite a good choice because none of the other players could understand a word of it."