ALEX MANNINGER is hanging his boots – to become a joiner!
The Liverpool keeper is calling it a day at the age of 39 and returning to his native Austria.
Manninger was in the building trade before turning pro with RB Salzburg in 1996 and that’s where he’s heading after completing a one-year deal at Anfield.
The former Arsenal No 1, who won the Double in 1998, is hell bent on carrying on where he left off more than two decades ago and not worry about where his next game of football is coming from.
He said: “I was keen to decide myself, not wait again for the summer and whether I receive a phone call or not.
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“I finished at a high level I never dreamed of. I’ve had one of the greatest experiences in my career here, but it is time.
“I am quite looking forward to my time out of football. I will have a rest, but I was a professional joiner before I got into football so I might go back to my roots – construction work, property work, furnishing and so on.”
Manninger didn’t actually make a competitive appearance for Liverpool following his arrival on a free transfer from FC Augsburg last summer.
But over the years he appeared in the Premier League, La Liga and the Bundesliga, and won 34 caps for Austria.
And his year as back-up at Liverpool was obviously far from wasted.
“When Jurgen Klopp phoned me up, I knew he wasn’t phoning to say: ‘Look, Alex, I need a goalkeeper who will play…’
“He needed a goalie to show the right way, how to be disciplined and hope to cope with pressure.
“I had a few good discussions with the keepers here, telling them the wheel is always spinning in football – you can be out of the team now, but you’ll be back in at some point.
“It was easier for me to do that because I was not competition for them and so was in quite a relaxed situation. But even so, I worked every day and kept up my discipline every day, and I really enjoyed it.
“The standard of quality here is so high that I will never look back and think I should have played a game here. It’s been a great year, a great experience.
“It’s an achievement to say I have been a professional until the age of 40. I was the first Austrian to come to the Premier League, the first young goalie to play for Arsenal.
“I’ve met great players, played with world champions, players of the year, golden boot winners, I couldn’t have asked for much more.”
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