FORMER Premier League footballer Royston Drenthe has bizarrely been named a shock outsider to be the next James Bond.
The Dutchman hung up his boots last year aged 35, 11 years after his spell in the Prem with Everton.
Now 36, Drenthe is turning his attention to acting.
He has already appeared as a gangster in hit Dutch crime drama Mocro Maffia in 2021.
And according to GB News, he has entered the betting to be the next James Bond at a 500/1 long shot.
With Daniel Craig having appeared in his last Bond film, the race to be his successor is hotting up.
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Damson Idris has emerged as favourite to land the coveted gig.
While Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Rege-Jean Page make up the top three in the betting.
On his acting ambitions, Drenthe told Ladbrokes Fanzone: "A lot has been made about my 'rap career', but in truth that's just something I wanted to try out; I was never serious about pursuing a career in it.
"I did, however, always used to tell my mother that I wanted to be an actor one day; that was something I was very serious about. Aside from football, it was another dream of mine.
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"I'm the kind of person who is happy to give anything a go, and so I didn't have a problem putting my name forward for a casting call for 'Mocro Maffia', a crime drama in the Netherlands. I can remember speaking to my agent about it: 'What are you doing?!'
"But I wanted to give it a go; I asked him to let them know I was interested and shortly after I was sent a script and told I had three weeks to prepare for my audition.
"Like I said, I was always keen to try out, but that doesn't mean I wasn't nervous – of course I was. This was my first time trying anything like this; I wasn't going into it with any experience whatsoever."
On being the next 007, he added: ""I know Daniel Craig is giving up the role of James Bond soon… is that the next job for me? I'd have to work on my English a little more, I think!"
Drenthe played for Real Madrid between 2007 and 2012, winning a host of trophies along the way.
He spent the final season of his time at Santiago Bernabeu on loan at Everton in the Premier League.
The wide man made 27 appearances for the Goodison club, scoring four times and laying on seven assists.
Drenthe also played in England for Reading and Sheffield Wednesday.
During his career, Drenthe loved to party.
But since his retirement he has become a health worker.
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He told Portuguese outlet NOS: "My entire family has always been in care.
"Aunt Helen is a nurse. My mother and aunt work in healthcare. A few years ago I already thought: "Why don't I also do training and courses and see what that does to me?""
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