Robbie Herrera recalls how Hugh Grant helped him sign for Fulham | OneFootball

Robbie Herrera has revealed how he managed to sign for Fulham back in 1993 - thanks to actor Hugh Grant.

Then-Fulham chairman Jimmy Hill appealed to fans to donate what they could towards Herrera's transfer fee demanded by QPR, but the club couldn't muster the funds.

He recalled to the Mirror: "I didn't know too much about it [the donation], when it came to the clubs agreeing on a deal, Fulham couldn't afford it.

"It went to a tribunal and I remember being in there in front of the FA panel.

"When they said it was going to be £60,000 I thought, 'That's all right, they've got a bargain to be fair.' And Jimmy Hill, God bless him, said at the time, 'Financially we can't afford that.'

All hope looked to be lost for the struggling west London club, but then suddenly Fulham found themselves in the green.

"A few days later I got a call from Don [MacKay, ex-Fulham boss]," continues Herrera.

"It was deadline day and he said, 'When you finish training come over, we've managed to sort out the money,' and that was that."

Shortly after the transfer was complete a rumour emerged that film star and lifelong Fulham fan Grant had put up the money for the fee.

"Apparently he paid half of it," said Herrera. "It was a £30,000 down payment and then £30,000 after so many games, and I have been told - and it came from good sources - that he put down either the initial instalment or he was going to pay the final instalment.

"I got a bit of stick off some of the lads, like Simon Morgan, who was a close friend of mine, and we were roommates. But it was all harmless and good-natured."