We've recently declared that former Anfield hero John Arne Riise's twitter account is right up there with the best footballer accounts to follow due to his complete honesty and fondness for a laugh, but it seems as though the Norwegian is attempting to engineer a move back to English football at the age of 35.
The fact that he is contemplating a return to England when most would be thinking of winding down their career shows that Riise doesn't care about how old he is, but instead how old he feels, and speaking to LiverpoolEcho.co.uk he explained that he dreams of a return to the Premier League.
Riise is currently a free agent having last played under manager Roberto Carlos for the Dehli Dynamos in India, and says he's willing to consider anything if the offer suits him and his family:
I am free and I will see where I end up next. I’m 35 but age is just a number. It all depends how you look after your body. In my head I’m still 18!
Physically, I feel strong and I want to play on until I’m 40. I think it’s still too soon to go back to Norway and play. I still have a lot to offer on the pitch. It just has to be the right offer for me and my family. If the right offer doesn’t come along then there are lot of other things I can do like TV work.
I’d love to play in England again. That would be ideal in this window. I’ve had a few offers from different places but I would love to come back to England.
What level? It all depends. I see some players playing in the Premier League currently who shouldn’t be there.
One of those Premier League players that Riise feels he is better than is current Liverpool defender Jose Enrique, although Riise acknowledged that the Spaniard's selfie-game may be on a different level as he typically took to twitter to respond to those who had read the article:
Although you can't really consider Jose Enrique a Premier League player anymore, can you? Regardles, while a return to Liverpool is almost certainly never going to happen, Riise believes that while he may have lost a yard of pace, he still has his power:
Riise also believes that his time in India has helped him improve where he now feels is his best position, at the heart of the defence as opposed to the flank:
Living wise, it was probably the hardest time in my career living as I was spending about 19 hours a day in my room in Delhi. But I enjoyed playing centre-back there. I think that’s my position now. I can use my experience there.
I’m confident that something good will happen over the next couple of weeks. I just need someone to take a chance on me.
He's been retweeting fans from clubs like Sheffield United claiming that he would be a big help to them, but he's aiming for the top:
It may be optimistic, but you've got to admire Riise's outlook. Usually when former stars head for the likes of the Indian Premier League, it's because they've given up on playing in Europe's top leagues or want a nice vacation to end their career, but Riise genuinely wants to get back involved.
Whether or not a club in England sees him as a viable option in this window remains to be seen.
