Arsene Wenger has revealed he is “scared” of retirement – and admits he worries he won’t cope with leaving front line football as well as Sir Alex Ferguson.
The 66-year-old Frenchman is entering the final year of his contract at Arsenal, but in a wide-ranging interview he says he can’t imagine life without football.
“It’s been my life and, honestly, I’m quite scared of the day. The longer I wait, the more difficult it will be and the more difficult it will be to lose the addiction.”
His comments will spark speculation that the veteran boss, who has been in charge at Arsenal for 20 years now, will seek to extend his stay beyond the term of his current contract.
For years Wenger had a fierce rivalry with Alex Ferguson but since the latter retired from Manchester United, relations have thawed between the two men – and now Wenger says he can’t understand how well his old sparring partner has adjusted to life away from management.
(Photo by Harold Cunningham/Getty Images for UEFA)“After Alex retired and we played them over there [at Manchester United] he sent a message to me to come up and have a drink with him. I asked: ‘Do you miss it?’ He said: ‘Not at all.’ I didn’t understand that. It’s an emptiness in your life, especially when you’ve lived your whole life waiting for the next game and trying to win it.”
Wenger, speaking in a new book about management called Game Changers, also said he will never change his ways in the transfer market – despite many fans being frustrated with his frugal ways.
“I personally believe the only way to be a manager is to spend the club’s money as if it were your own because if you don’t do that you’re susceptible to too many mistakes,” he said. “You make big decisions and I believe you have to act like it’s your own money, like you’re the owner of the club and you can identify completely with the club.”
