Former Aston Villa forward John Carew has revealed that Prince William "convinced" him to seal a transfer to Villa Park. Carew joined Villa during the summer of 2007 from French side Lyon and proceeded to find the net 48 times in 131 matches for the Midlands outfit.

The ex-striker remained at Villa for four-and-a-half years, which included a temporary stint at Stoke City in the latter half of the 2010/11 campaign, before departing on a free transfer to sign for West Ham. Prince William is an avid Villa supporter, and Carew has recounted an encounter with the Prince of Wales that led the former forward to make the switch to Villa Park, after the royal spoke about only one topic.

"We met in Norway, during a dinner with the royal family," Carew told Gazzetta dello Sport. "I remember we only talked about football, and shortly afterwards, he invited me to England to watch an Aston Villa match, his team.

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"He convinced me to move there in 2007: for three consecutive seasons, I scored double figures in the Premier League.

"He admired me. In 2019, we watched the play-off final against Derby County together at Wembley, which secured our return to the Premier League."

Following his retirement from professional football in 2012, Carew has pursued an acting career, which he says originated during his spell as a Villa player.

"In 2009, I was playing for Aston Villa. I was 30," Carew said. "Some of my friends in London worked in the film industry, and one day they said to me, 'John, you look interesting to be an actor.'

"I didn't believe it at first. Then I convinced myself and started taking courses. Acting allowed me to create a channel to express my emotions."

Carew added: "I'd like to star in a beautiful Italian love story. And then I'd like to be a villain in one of the next James Bond films."

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