The son of an ex-Aston Villa and Bulgaria captain is standing for Reform UK in the May local elections.
Stiliyan Petrov, whose father of the same name is Bulgaria’s most capped player, hopes to represent Nigel Farage’s party in Lapworth & West Kenilworth, Warwickshire.
Reform announced his candidacy in a flashy video in which Mr Petrov does kick-ups in homage to his footballing roots while promising voters “a voice that will actually represent them”.
He claimed he does not want to become “a career politician” but hinted at ambitions to run as an MP in a future general election, saying he would also like to help “the country one day”.
Mr Petrov, whose father reportedly earned more than £57,000 a week at Aston Villa before a diagnosis of acute leukaemia forced him to retire in May 2013, said in the video: “I decided to stand for election because I think it’s time the working-class people and the youth of this country have a voice that’ll actually represent them.”
“We all start somewhere,” he added, discussing the progress he has made on his electrical apprenticeship.
Mr Petrov said Labour and the Conservatives “have constantly been lying to us, making false promises and making us wait”.
“I’ve had enough, it’s time for me to step up to the challenge and to make real change that matters. I believe in common sense politics. I believe we should have lower taxes, safer streets and infrastructure that actually benefits everyone,” he added.
Stiliyan Petrov Sr won 10 trophies playing for Celtic before moving to Aston Villa in 2006, where he was inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame in 2013.
His son’s candidacy for Reform comes amid a local election row following Kemi Badenoch’s admission she would be willing to see her candidates strike deals to control councils with Mr Farage’s party.
The Tory leader has consistently ruled out any national deal with Reform, whose leader has vowed to “destroy” the Conservative Party.
But speaking to BBC Breakfast on Thursday, Ms Badenoch suggested the picture could be different at a local level.
Labour said it is “crystal clear” Reform and the Conservatives are planning to work together, while the Liberal Democrats said you “couldn’t put a cigarette paper between Ms Badenoch and Mr Farage”.
It also comes after The Independent revealed just a third of local election candidates are women, with three times as many Davids running as Sarahs.
The breakdown of candidates by charity 50:50 Parliament, which campaigns for greater female representation in politics, showed that just over one in five (22 per cent) of Reform’s candidates are women, while just over a quarter (28 per cent) of Conservatives standing are women.
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