Ben Davies isn't planning on retiring anytime soon, but he's already starting to think about what comes next in his career. A fan favorite and currently the longest-tenured player at Tottenham Hotspur, Davies is beloved at Spurs and deeply respected by the club and every manager that has come and gone over the last decade when he's been at the club.
But Davies is 33 now, the Wales national team captain, and understands that all things must come to an end eventually. In an interview with the BBC, Davies says that while he hopes to keep playing football for a few more years, he's looking at what happens after he hangs up his boots — and that he'd be interested in both a coaching role, or even a move to the boardroom of a football club.
"Look, hopefully [retirement] is still quite a few years away. I feel fit. I love playing football, and I want to play as long as I can. But you're a long time retired in this game, and I don't see myself just doing nothing after football.
"For me, it's a great learning experience as well – to see how it all works behind the scenes in the world of football. This is a great start. It's more than just a role for me; it's great to be able to give back as much as I can to a footballing country that's given me so much.
"It's hard to put a nail in it where your future lies. If something falls on my lap in the coaching world, then maybe that will be my route. But I want to be able to use my expertise and what I've learned in the best way that it can be, and I don't know what angle that takes after football yet.
"I'd like to be someone who maybe, at some point, crosses that divide from a player to the boardroom or a front-office kind of role, because I haven't seen too many players over the years who have done that.
"I think it definitely adds a pretty good perspective when making decisions."
I think we all expected Davies to move into coaching after his playing days are done. He has completed his UEFA A License already, which means he's already qualified to lead U18 teams, be a top assistant coach, or even manage a Championship club. (He would need his UEFA Pro License in order to manage a top-level club in European football.) It wouldn't shock me if he would immediately move to Tottenham's coaching ranks, or possibly a coaching position in Wales, after calling it quits on his playing days.
Davis is also a super smart guy and I find it fascinating that he'd consider a boardroom role as well. I do know he feels passionate about the development of Welsh football, something he mentions in his BBC interview — Davies was recently invited to sit at a meeting of the FAW via his status as Wales captain to discuss the future of Welsh football, and came away feeling as though he could have his voice heard at the highest level of the sport.
"There are a lot of people in that room with a lot of experience that know a lot about what goes on behind the scenes in football. [They] probably know a lot more than I do. I've only been a player. But ultimately, I'm here with a player's voice.
"Having played at the highest level for a long time, I want to be able to maintain those standards, bring us up to the levels that I've seen in the world of football, maintain us, and put us in a good place going forward.
"I want to see that Welsh football is giving the best opportunity to all players at every level – not just at the professional level like we are, but throughout the Welsh leagues and down to the grassroots as well. If I can impart any of my advice or where I've seen things that work or don't work throughout my time as a player, I can give my opinions, and hopefully that's acted upon, then all the better for Welsh football."
Davies is being used sparingly this season as a reserve central defender and left back. There's not much of a reason to think that his Tottenham minutes will increase significantly except in the case of an injury crisis, and I can also see a scenario where he leaves the club and ends up finishing his playing days with a team like Swansea, from whom Spurs purchased him back in 2014. One thing I'm certain of is that we will not have heard the last of Ben Davies if and when he concludes his Tottenham Hotspur career.
