Arjen Robben outlines future plans as Bayern Munich contract runs down

Arjen Robben has no retirement plans but is unable to confirm whether he will be penning fresh terms at Bayern Munich or making a fresh start elsewhere.

The 34-year-old has been working on short-term deals at the Allianz Arena, with the latest of those set to expire in the summer.


He is among those to have thrived at Bayern since Jupp Heynckes returned to the helm, with club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge having revealed in December that extension talks are planned.

No agreement has been put in place as yet, though, and Robben continues to head towards free agency.

The veteran Dutchman is not overly concerned about that situation, with the decision having already been made in his head that he will be playing on somewhere, with Sport Buzzer told: “At the moment I feel very fit, very good and believe that I can play at the highest level for another year or two – that’s my goal.

“I have such an open and honest communication with all those responsible here that I am not worried at all. The club will have a plan. And then I and the club have to decide if and how it goes on.”

Robben’s father has admitted that interest is being shown in his son from afar, with new challenges in America or China having been mooted.

Pressed on whether such switches would appeal, the former Netherlands international added: “That’s exactly the topic of discussion in my home, at the kitchen table. When I talk to my family or to my friends. It is now a point where I have to make decisions.

“A few years ago, that was usually relatively clear, but the end is approaching and there are so many things to consider – this is not easy, but it is exciting.

“There are many possibilities open. Some things I’ve already checked off in my head, but they will stay with me.”

Robben is fortunate to have worked with some of the finest coaches in the business over the course of his illustrious career, from Jose Mourinho to Heynckes via Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti.

He is not, however, expecting to follow them into management, with life in the dugout considered to be too stressful.

“From time to time I train the team of my son, that’s a lot of fun. But to say that one day I want to be a head coach at the highest level, I find that difficult,” said Robben.

“I see every day what stress there is, what kind of pressure.

“I have been playing for 18 years and the pressure on coaches has got bigger all the time. That raises the question: Do I really need that? I really do not know if I feel like it.”