Edgar Davids says an appeal from fans on his Twitter page convinced him to join The Eagles. The 37-year-old midfielder, who boasts Ajax, AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Tottenham among his former clubs, has come out of retirement on a pay-as-you-play deal at Selhurst Park.

"Why Palace? Two reasons - first, the history. When I was young I used to watch Ian Wright and Mark Bright on television, they always played well and that stuck with me," Davids explained.

"And second, on my Twitter page there was a guy who talked about Palace and he asked 'The club has a problem, can you help us out?'. I told my followers to support Palace and, after a couple of weeks, I got a tweet from him to say 'We're saved, thank you'.

"I had been training with Ajax, and it was going so well that a friend who also knows the Palace coach accelerated the process.

"I know the Championship is a fast-paced, competitive league and I don't under-estimate the standard or the physical demands. I might last two games, I might stay here for two years and finish my career with Palace, I don't know."