Who's the best dressed in St Peter's? It's a tossup between the flamboyant former NBA star and the cardinals at in the conclave

Dennis Rodman at the Vatican: 'I want to be anywhere in the world I'm needed'

Fresh from his triumphant diplomatic tour of North Korea – during which he pronounced supreme leader Kim Jong-un a "friend for life" but unfortunately managed to upset South Korean Gangnam Style singer Psy – former basketball star Dennis Rodman has now pitched up at the Vatican to lend a hand with the process of choosing a new pope.

"I want to be anywhere in the world that I'm needed," the sports star told the gossip website TMZ.

"It's amazing that I'm actually doing all these amazing historical things now," he added. "And people just can't believe it's actually Dennis Rodman, of all people – not Madonna, Oprah, or anybody like that, it's Dennis Rodman."

Rodman was said to be in Rome to help Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana become the first black pope. But the Associated Press reported that he did not seem to be sure exactly who he was promoting. "From Africa, right?" Rodman asked. But he said he was sure the next pope would be black, and he said he would like to meet him in Africa on his mission to promote world peace.

Pope John Paul II was the American Hall of Fame basketball player's favourite pontiff, he said: "He was cool as hell. He pretty much was like a pimp. Sitting up there … speaking like 20,000 different languages … He was great for the world."

Rodman had promised to be "in the popemobile, doing my thing". But his plans to enter St Peter's Square in his own version of a popemobile were reportedly held up when the vehicle was delayed by snow in northern Italy.

Twitter users asked what was next for Rodman: "Syria?" and said they were proud to have a new American ambassador – "#NOT".

Brian Principato from Washington DC used to social network to dub him "Dennis #Rodman Without Borders", and Yahoo News's Olivier Knox asked if the player was "angling for a starting spot on the Papal Bulls".

Annapurna Barry (@makesleekkills) This is the best thing I've seen all day... look at Dennis Rodman's jacket! #iwantit twitter.com/makesleekkills…

But, as 115 cardinals in full "choir dress" continued deliberating over the choice of the next pontiff behind the closed doors of the Sistine chapel, whether Rodman was the most flamboyantly dressed man in the Vatican today remained an open question.