Jamie O'Hara signed for Billericay Town after his good friend Mark Wright convinced him that the non-league team are going on a huge new adventure.
Jamie O'Hara (c) Nicky Hayes/BTFC
The 30-year-old midfielder - who played in the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur and also had spells at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Blackpool, Fulham and Gillingham - is confident the club, who are currently ninth in the Isthmian League Premier Division, are going places and is thrilled to have made the move on the recommendation of his friend, who is rumoured to be taking on a 20 per cent stake in the side.
He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "Well Mark Wright is a very old friend of mine and he called me up and asked me if I wanted to be involved. And I came down and met the owner and he's got some big plans for this club and he wanted me so I wanted to sign and be involved ...
"Mark's really involved in the club, he's desperate for it to do well and be involved in the club as much as possible. He's a good player, he almost made it and he still loves the game."
The former 'Celebrity Big Brother' contestant is thrilled with his signing because he can combine his love of the game with pursuing his new interests in TV.
He added: "I'm just pleased to be back playing football, I didn't know what was going to happen after doing 'Big Brother'. This is part-time so I can still do my TV work and other projects, but football is what I love and I'm really happy to be down at Billericay."
With the team currently just three points off play-off place, Jamie is hoping his presence will help them make a big push for promotion.
He said: "Hopefully I can help the boys out now, we're near the playoffs so you never know we might be able to go up this season. I've played at the highest level so hopefully my experience can help the team."
And the sportsman has joked that lucky Billericay fans could even see other former Premiership stars line up for them in the future.
He added: "I've already had some of my friends in football phone me up and ask me what's going on down there, so you never know, I might be joined by some more players who you'd know."
When asked if some of his old Spurs teammates could join him down in Essex, he laughed: "I think we might be getting ahead ourselves there!"
Tagged in Mark Wright Jamie O'Hara