Former Bolton Wanderers and Liverpool forward El Hadji Diouf has revealed that he is considering running for president in his native Senegal.
The 37-year-old, who also played for clubs including Rangers, Blackburn Rovers and Leeds United, said that his political aspirations were inspired by ex-Chelsea and George Weah, who is now president of Liberia.
"I am looking after myself and my family. For many years I use to think about football but I have a new career and it is a political career," FourFourTwo quotes Diouf as saying.
"I have taken the decision to do politics because I have people waiting for me to change things in my country and I'm ready to do that because I want to be the soldier of the youngsters.
"My future is defined. In the next two years I'll be joining politics, because I know from that point I can change a lot in football. I have a lot of passion for politics, and I have people in Senegal who are mentoring me. That is the future for me, because a lot of Senegalese people are able to listen to me.
"I took high-level coaching courses, but decided not to continue since I have better plans for things I want to do."
Diouf spent 12 years of his career in Britain, before ending his playing days in Malaysia with Sabah FA.
Mark Langshaw
