Deposed former Carlton AFL club president John Elliott has made a comeback to the struggling AFL giant - as the head of a new coterie group.

Elliott was invited back to the fold - more than four years after he was dumped as the club's president - by new president and millionaire, and life-long friend Richard Pratt, News Limited newspapers reported.

"It's wonderful news," Elliott said.

"Anything I can do for Carlton I will, Carlton has been my life, I love the club and I will do anything Dick asks me to do."

The former high-flying businessman was Carlton president from 1983 to 2002, when he was dumped as serious salary caps were revealed, costing the club more than $1 million in fines as well as vital draft selections.

It's thought Elliott masterminded Pratt's rise to the top at Carlton.

Elliott said he would push to include club identities from its glory days of the 1980s and `90s join the coterie group.

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