Premier League cult hero looks totally unrecognisable 15 years after retirement after becoming pastor
FORMER footballer Taribo West looks completely unrecognisable as he now works as a PASTOR in Nigeria.
The 47-year-old became a bit of a cult hero during his career due to his dyed locks of hair and flamboyant playing style.
West spent one season on loan at Derby in 2000, making 18 appearances.
He returned to these shores five years later, playing four times for Plymouth as his career wound down.
West was also on the books at AC and Inter Milan.
Now, 15 years since he retired from the Beautiful Game, West has become a man of god working as a pastor in Lagos.
Speaking to , West revealed God appeared to him 'one-on-one'.
He said: “Why would I switch from being a footballer to becoming a pastor? I saw God one-on-one. That’s where my transition started; From the field to the pulpit.
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“We were celebrating. In the middle of that, a woman stumbled into me and said: ‘Sir, please may I know your name?’ I said: ‘I am Mr No name’. She said: ‘May I know where you live?’ I said: ‘I live nowhere.’ She left with annoyance.
“In the twinkle of an eye, I just heard an audible voice. And it came like a slap. It said: ‘Switch, turn.’ I turned.
"It said: ‘Look at the woman. Look for her now and call that woman and apologise to her. I said that to you.’ That can only be a voice from God.
“So I switched, like a Robocop, I start searching for the woman, and when this sister came all the way from America, she told me a lot of prophecies.
"And she told me in the next one or two years; I would open a church. All the prophecies she gave me came to pass.”
West made 42 appearances for Nigeria between 1994 and 2005, winning a gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
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