ADELAIDE United cult hero Marcos Flores has been courted by an SA rival club.

The Argentine has been locked in talks with Adelaide City for the new 2017 SA national premier league season.

Adelaide City officials are keen to sign Flores not only for his playing ability but the Argentine’s magnetism is also a huge off field draw card where he is destined to become the club’s face and leader of junior academies.

Flores said he would soon make a decision on whether Adelaide City becomes his new club.

“This is something special for me, I want to be useful in so many ways in Adelaide,’’ Flores said from Argentina.

“I am on the same page as Adelaide City and it really is a big decision to make for me because ultimately it means I’ll be out of professional football and there’s no turning back.

“But I have spoken with good people at Adelaide City like (board member) Mario Boffa and they have a huge project which I really want to be part of.

“I still have petrol in the tank to play at a good level but I also want to do something which is greater and to give something back to the game to children.

“I want to help Adelaide City grow, they have a rich history and they really want to be big improvers in development.”

Flores is looming to be the NPL’s first real ‘marquee’ type player if Adelaide City can pull off the arguably the biggest coup of the domestic competition since 1977 when the now defunct national soccer league started up.

The 2011 Johnny Warren medal winner farewelled Adelaide United in June for Chinese football.

Before he left for club duties with Henan Jiayne he penned an open letter to Reds fans, signing off with a kick about at Colley Reserve with hundreds of supporters.

Flores also asked fans to donate soccer gear at the kick about before forwarding the goods to the children of Central Australia.

Flores, 30, was recently contracted to Chile’s Curico Unido which was the playmaker’s last club before he made an instant impact with Adelaide United in 2010.

He is also now fielding offers from clubs in India and South America after ending his stint with Curico Unido.

After ending his stint in China in 2012, Flores signed for Melbourne Victory, Central Coast, Newcastle Jets and Jacksonville Armada in the US.