Former Arsenal midfielder Robert Pires is excited about the new adventure he is about to embark on.
The 38-year old Frenchman has signed on with the Indian Football Association and the Celebrity Management Group's eight-week football league which will be run in a very similar fashion to the highly successful Indian Premier League of cricket.
Pires says he jumped at the chance to have a crack at the competition, which could include fellow veterans Fabio Cannavaro, Jay-Jay Okocha, Hernan Crespo and Robbie Fowler among others, and is looking forward to experiencing a completely new culture.
"I am proud to be the first Frenchman to go and play there. And eight weeks is nothing.
"If my (club) president likes me, it could be 790,000 ($1 million). It is a lot of money. I'm not going to complain about that am I? But I'm not going there as a tourist. It's a new adventure.""Since I had nothing in Europe, why not try something completely unknown? I've never been over there," Pires told L'Equipe.