Philipp Lahm has made it clear that he wants to stay at Bayern Munich his entire life, although he is not interested in a coaching role once he hangs up his boots.
The 31-year-old came through the ranks of the Bayern youth academy and has spent his entire career so far at the Bavarians – bar a two-year loan spell at Stuttgart.
Lahm recently revealed that he aims to retire at FCB once his contract runs out in 2018 and he is hopeful of continuing at the club in a different role.
“I cannot imagine myself becoming a coach. But I can see myself stay in football my entire life, ideally at Bayern. Bayern are my boyhood club,” Lahm told AZ.
“I once left Bayern with pain in my heart and that was to join Stuttgart on loan. I guess I like staying close to home.”
The ex-Germany international went on to defend head coach Pep Guardiola in the wake of criticism of his behaviour during the 1-1 draw with Schalke on Tuesday, where the Spaniard made headlines with a sprint toward the linesman to protest the decision to disallow Robert Lewandowski’s goal, only to then hug the fourth official after Arjen Robben’s strike.
“You do not often see things like that,” Lahm admitted. “But everybody who has worked with Pep knows how emotional he is, but also how kind he is to other people. I don’t think any bad words have been said.
“He is always there for his players and he loves the game. And you see this in the way he behaves on the sidelines.”