Former Aston Villa forward John Carew has revealed that Prince William played a key role in convincing him to join the club in 2007. The Norwegian striker, who scored 48 goals in 131 appearances for Villa, recounted a meeting with the Prince of Wales in Norway that led to his transfer from Lyon.
Carew told Gazzetta dello Sport: 'We met in Norway, during a dinner with the royal family. I remember we only talked about football, and shortly afterwards, he invited me to England to watch an Aston Villa match, his team. He convinced me to move there in 2007: for three consecutive seasons, I scored double figures in the Premier League.'
The 44-year-old, who also had a loan spell at Stoke City before leaving Villa for West Ham in 2011, added that he and Prince William watched Villa's 2019 Championship play-off final victory against Derby County together at Wembley. 'He admired me,' Carew said.
Since retiring from football in 2012, Carew has pursued an acting career, which began during his time at Villa. He expressed a desire to star in an Italian love story and to play a villain in a future James Bond film.
