Former Spanish national team player Tiago Alcantara announced on Monday evening that he is ending his playing career, but he could be active in football again very soon, albeit in a different role.
"I will always be ready to give back what I got and I am grateful for the time I spent. Thank you to football. And to everyone who followed me and made me a better player and person along the way," the 33-year-old midfielder wrote on the social platform X.
Alcantara spent the last four seasons of his career in Liverpool, and before that he played for Barcelona and Bayern. Injuries prevented him from making a significant contribution at Anfield last season, as he only played five minutes due to constant problems.
Alcantara won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2011, but he left his deepest playing mark in Munich, where he also gained cult status among the fans, after the then Bayern coach Pep Guardiola brought him from Barcelona in 2013. Guardiola wanted Alcantara in his team so much that he insisted that he try to sign him in the transfer window with the slogan - "Thiago or nothing".
In the end, Bayern brought him in a transfer worth 25 million euros.
Tiago played in Bayern from 2013 to 2020 and won with the club seven German championship titles, four German Cups and reached his second triumph in the Champions League, in the last season, when his coach was Hansi Flick.
The former German coach, after the dismissal of Xavi Hernandez, was chosen as the new coach of Barcelona, where, according to the media, he wants to return Tiago in the role of one of his assistants.
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