Time travellers are everywhere on TikTok (and perhaps even in real life?) recently, and there's been crossover in the world of football as well.
Cult 90s footballer Anders Limpar played for Arsenal, as well as Everton and Birmingham City, and the Swedish winger made a real impact during his time in English football winning the First Division title and the FA Cup.
However, it turns out his time playing in the Premier League was just as interesting for his experiences off the field as it was for his playing career.
Football fans might know that he opened a bar after his playing days came to an end by opening the brilliantly named The Limp Bar in Stockholm.
Now, he’s spoken about the time he was the victim of an elaborate prank, which for a while made him believe he had travelled in time.
The prank was staged as part of the TV show Blasningen, which cost an incredible £200,000 to put together and took place over the course of two days.
Speaking to Ladbrokes Fanzone, Limpar said: “There were 20 guys involved, all to fool me, and I just bit. I was perfect for them.
"I believed I was flying in a time machine because we were already in an actual plane from Gothenburg to launch our new beer.”
He added: "There were these two 'scientists' on the flight who were talking about being able to time travel, and the plane was diving up and down all over the place.
"I can laugh at it all now, but at the time it was really, really scary. They involved actual jet fighters to guide us into Stockholm. We could hear everything over the radio, ‘Where have you been?! You've just shown up on the radar!'
Limpar went on: “The whole production was so cleverly done. I felt it was all real. It was absolutely crazy. We had two doctors on board in case I flipped. I'm just thinking, 'What the f*** is going on?!'
“This science guy just goes, 'I've done it. I've flown two years in time.'
“I went into the pilot shouting at him, demanding to speak to the tower. He ordered me to go back and put my seatbelt on. We were fighting with them in the plane because we wanted to know what was going on."
Recounting the story, he added: “It was such a horrible feeling. We thought we were dead. When we landed, we were told they'd had funerals for us and everything.
"They showed us newspapers - which obviously weren't real - where crazy things had apparently happened. They told us Norway had won the World Cup in 1998. I was so glad when the guy finally showed up to tell us it was all a prank. I felt like I'd had a rucksack full of stones just fall off my back, I was so relieved.
“I couldn't believe it. I was happy, of course, but I felt ridiculous for something like half an hour afterwards, to even think that I was flying two years into the future. But for years afterwards I was angry with it all because it made me a laughing stock in Sweden. I wasn't happy with that at all. That's why, when they asked me if they could sell the whole thing as a DVD, I said no.”
He continued: "Look, it was an incredible prank, so funny when I look back now, and I felt so many emotions at the time.”
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