A MUCH-LOVED goalkeeper is returning to his roots as he puts the finishing touches to his new business venture.

Middlesbrough Football Club's Greek keeper Dimi Konstantopolous has spent the last six months working on a new restaurant in the town – which is called Great – and is now ready to welcome diners.

The restaurant on Linthorpe Road has been designed to guarantee an authentic Greek venue.

He said: “I first had the idea to open a Greek restaurant about three years ago. I had a look around the Teesside area and thought there was a bit of a gap in the market for something like this.

“Obviously there are lots of Italian places and restaurants where you can get a good selection of Mediterranean food, but very few which are all Greek.

“People always say they love Greek food, they come back from holiday having tried lots of different specialities but they struggle to find them on menus over here.”

His childhood friend and now business partner Nikos Pitsoulis is also involved with the creation of Great, and after relocating to Middlesbrough.

Despite his new business venture, the married father-of-two insists his new venture isn’t a sign that he is preparing to hang his goalkeeping gloves just yet.

“I’m still enjoying my football, I enjoy going to training each morning and I still feel I have a good few years in the game as a player then maybe look to go into coaching," he said.