“He looks like he wants to coach” - Michael Owen picks who could take up coaching role between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo after retirement
Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen has claimed Cristiano Ronaldo is more likely to become a coach after retiring from professional football than Lionel Messi. He believes that the Portuguese legend showed signs of the same during the EURO 2016 final when he got injured.
Speaking to TV Sporten, Owen stated that Ronaldo and Messi have been in football for a long time and will not be away for long after their retirement. He added that the Portuguese star has more chances of getting into management. Owen said (via GOAL):
"I'd be fascinated to see what Cristiano Ronaldo is going to do when he retires. Obviously, they're not far away from that being the case. Their life has been in football and they absolutely love the sport and whether they can walk away from it in its entirety remains to be seen, they might want to go and own a club. They're probably one of a few footballers that have got the money to go and own a big club so that could take precedence over coaching. It'll be fascinating to see. I would say the likely person out of the two to go and manage would be Ronaldo."
After being subbed off in the 25th minute of the EURO 2016 final due to injury, Ronaldo stood beside Portugal manager Fernando Santos for the entirety of the match. His side eventually secured a 1-0 win against France. Owen pointed to the same and added:
"Just looking from the outside, it feels like he might want to be at the side of the pitch managing Portugal like he did at Euro 2016. He looks like a coach, he looks like he wants to coach, so he might want to go down that route. The Portugal job, probably in the future we might have his name on it, you never know. Of course, if he does well, then great teams like Manchester United, Real Madrid would then be looking at him," he added.
Cristiano Ronaldo recently confirmed that he has 2-3 years left in his career. Lionel Messi has also confirmed that his retirement is close, and Inter Miami are likely to be his final club.
Louis Saha backs Cristiano Ronaldo to become Manchester United manager
Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has stated that Cristiano Ronaldo can manage the Red Devils in the future. He believes that the Portuguese star has been working on his communication and told TV Sporten (via GOAL):
"Now he will know that he needs to find a new way to communicate when he becomes a coach, which maybe isn't as harsh or direct as it was when he was at the club. He will work out how to be successful and use all his knowledge to do that, we've seen Roy Keane go into management and have success. Cristiano will understand what he needs to do as a manager and I see no reason why he wouldn't be a success."
Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United in November 2022 after his contract was terminated by the club. He joined Al Nassr and has been with the Saudi club since.