Arsene Wenger does not expect to stay in England if and when he resumes his career in football as to do so would be to “betray” Arsenal.
The outgoing manager brought his 22 year reign to an end on Sunday, winning his final game 1-0 against Huddersfield, but has confirmed that he has already received offers from interested parties.
Everton have been the English club most consistently credited with interest in Wenger, though a move to work in the Paris Saint-Germain setup appears significantly more likely considering his tie
Wenger told Standard Sport after the Huddersfield win that he would “stay at home” rather than be part of a team that plays against his beloved Arsenal. As such it appears a near certainty that he has managed his final game in England.
“At the moment if I want to continue to work, I think I have to move out of the country, because my gut feeling at the moment is that I would feel I would betray my club by staying in England,” Wenger said. “People might feel that I’ve betrayed what I’ve built here.
“That is the problem I face at the moment. My club is here, my heart is here and will be forever. As I said in my speech on the pitch after the Burnley game, I’m a fan above all.”
Though Wenger’s final game against Huddersfield was a touching occasion the most passionate farewell took place at the Emirates Stadium a week earlier, when the Frenchman bowed out from north London with a 5-0 victory over Burnley.
The game ended with Wenger making a speech to a packed ground, only for his microphone to cut out as he was saying “we realise…” He has now revealed how he intended to end that sentence.
“We realise it’s all worth it, all the suffering, because then the special moments start,” he told the club website. “You can click with your team and be transported into a different world on another planet. That’s what I wanted to say.
“Look, we’re happy, we’re not happy, you’re disagreeing, but when you come to the stadium and the team plays and transports us to a beautiful world, you realise it’s all worth it.
“Daily life is not always enjoyable, it’s difficult for many people, and I’m always moved by one thing: to try to give people, when they wake up in the morning and go to the stadium, the hope of a special moment, the hope of a moment of happiness and the hope of a moment where they can forget all their problems.
“I think football has that responsibility and when you manage to do that, all the rest is worth it.”
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