Aaron Ramsey has revealed he spoke to French former team-mates at Arsenal before agreeing to join Nice on a free transfer.
The Welsh midfielder had been without a club after leaving Serie A giants Juventus at the end of his contract.
He joined the Ligue 1 side at the start of the month, and made the perfect debut by scoring just one minute into his debut off the bench in their opener against Toulouse.
As reported by the Sun, Ramsey joined the club after former team-mates advised him about the history of the club, and revealed what the league was like.
He said: 'I have spoken to a lot of players from my days at Arsenal.
'I played with many French players who have experienced the French league so I spoke to a lot of them in the last few weeks.
'They told me a lot about this league, how good and technical it is. They told me about the history of the club and I was very interested in that.
'I know some great players have played here in the past and I hope to be a part of a very successful period for the club.
'The project that they want to try and achieve here is very inviting for me. I'm looking forward to it and it's exciting. Hopefully I can contribute.'
Ramsey played alongside a host of French stars at Arsenal, including Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny and Bacary Sagna - and was also managed by Frenchman Arsene Wenger.
Ramsey spent 11 years at Arsenal before leaving the Emirates for Juventus three years ago.
The 75-cap Welshman struggled for form and fitness at the Serie A giants and spent the second half of last season on loan at Rangers.
The former Arsenal and Juventus midfielder was named on the substitutes bench for the French side, before being introduced in place of Calvin Stengs on 77 minutes.
And in the 78th minute, Ramsey arrived late into the box to meet Billal Brahimi's cutback and finished high past Maxime Dupe to net an equaliser for his new team in a 1-1 draw.
The Welshman was linked with a return to Premier League football after a torrid three years in Turin that was mangled by injuries, but chose to sign for the progressive Ligue 1 side that finished fifth last season.
Nice also signed another Premier League veteran this summer in the form of Kasper Schmeichel from Leicester.