Kevin-Prince Boateng bringing the fight back to the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt
He's played in four of Europe's biggest leagues and delivered a speech on human rights at the United Nations in Geneva. Kevin-Prince Boateng is not done yet, however, and has just made his 100th Bundesliga appearance this weekend.
Joining Eintracht Frankfurt on a three-year-deal from Las Palmas earlier this week, the 30-year-old former Ghana international midfielder remains as hungry as ever.
"I'm ready, I'm good to go," Boateng said. "I'm looking forward to getting to my new team-mates, wearing the Eintracht shirt and fighting for points."
Bringing the fight is what Boateng arguably does best. Last term, he turned out 28 times in La Liga for Las Palmas. He has also represented Italian duo AC Milan and Genoa, English sides Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth, and Bundesliga trio Hertha Berlin, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke. In his own words: "I'm like a chameleon. I fit in anywhere."
Watch: The Prince, Bundesliga royalty
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'Fight disease of racism'
It is not only on the pitch where Boateng is ready to stand up and make his presence felt. Named FIFA's first global anti-discrimination ambassador, the Berlin-born midfielder gave an impassioned, inspiring speech to the UN in March 2013.
"It's not simply an argument for the history channel or something that belongs to the past or something that only happens in other countries. Racism is real, it exists here and now," Boateng told delegates on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
"We can't allow this to happen before our very eyes. Football stadiums, like other places, are full of young people. If we don't fight the stagnation, many of those who are healthy today, could become infected with one of the most dangerous diseases of our time."
The midfielder, then at AC Milan, and his team-mates had themselves shown the way, walking off the pitch in protest at racist abuse hurled at Boateng during a friendly just two months before he spoke in Switzerland.
Watch: When Boateng met Boateng
It was a ground-breaking stance that fits snugly with his steely glaze and tough-tackling game that is the stuff of legend, but he also has a softer side. "I wanted to be closer to my family," he said to explain his return to the country of his birth. "I missed them, I missed Germany and, above all, I missed the Bundesliga. The league is more balanced than ever. It means the world to me that Eintracht enabled me and my family to return home."
The feeling is mutual. "Prince will give this team a tremendous amount with his exceptional qualities as a player," commented Eintracht head coach Niko Kovac. "The young players, in particular, will benefit a lot from him being here. Kevin-Prince will be a leader for the team. He is a born winner."
Critics will argue Boateng is in the twilight of his career, but his ten goals and four assists from midfield in a team which finished 14th in La Liga last season suggest otherwise.
As they and the Frankfurt fans will discover over the course of this campaign - as many already have before them - K-P Boateng is not afraid to stand up and be counted for a cause, on and off the pitch.