Thiago was interviewed by journalist David Ornstein on The Athletic, where he reflected on the injuries that forced him into retirement, discussed his experience working with coaches like Guardiola, Klopp, and Flick, and shared his views on beautiful football and the development of young players. This article is the first part of the exclusive interview.
Host (Emma Payton): Hello everyone, and welcome to The Athletic FC Podcast's Truth or Padel Extra. I'm Emma Payton, and joining me today is Truth or Padel host David Ornstein. Hello, it's good to see you again.
Ornstein: Hello, it's good to see you again. It's great to be here.
Host (Emma Payton): Yes, it's good to be back. This is the third episode in our series.
Ornstein: Yes, with all due respect to our other guests, this guest is truly special. He was a player, and a very good person. To record this episode, we made a special trip to Barcelona.
Host (Emma Payton): That's quite a buildup. Before we reveal the guest, a reminder to listeners that Truth or Padel is our new limited series at The Athletic. We ask well-known football guests difficult questions they wouldn't normally be asked in a standard interview, all while playing padel.
Ornstein: Exactly.
Host (Emma Payton): Okay, tell us the rules.
Ornstein: The rules are simple. I ask a question, and if the guest wins the point, they don't have to answer. If I win the point, they have to answer. Our guest for this episode is the talented Spanish international midfielder who played for Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool, and recently joined Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick's coaching staff – Thiago Alcántara.
Host (Emma Payton): You've built up everyone's expectations. Now, let's listen to a short clip from the show.
DO: Speaking of Messi, is there anything he's not good at? Or, in life, in sports, is there anything he can't do? Think about it, because I'm going to win this point. Tell me about your friend's unknown weaknesses.
Thiago: It's difficult. We're talking about the best footballer on the planet. I think in other sports he's probably similar to us. But in padel, we might be better than him.
No way.
Thiago: We can say we play padel better than Messi.
Even me?
Thiago: One hundred percent.
DO: Great, I love that.
Coincidentally, when that clip was playing just now, I noticed a picture of his father on the wall of the studio. This wasn't planned—it's the great Mazinho. So that footballing talent truly runs in their blood, as Thiago Alcántara's brother is also a professional player. After we finished playing, we sat down for a good chat. As you heard at the beginning of the show, we talked about the injuries that ended his career prematurely and how he felt about it. We also discussed the coaches Thiago worked with, including Pep Guardiola, Jürgen Klopp, and Luis Enrique. He shared his thoughts on who he believed was the best among them and what he learned from each. Finally, like all guests on Truth or Padel, we asked Thiago: if he could give advice to his 18-year-old self, what would it be?
Host (Emma Payton): Those are all great questions. Where did you start the conversation?
Ornstein: I picked up on something interesting he said earlier that day. Let's listen.
Earlier today, when you arrived, you mentioned you had a slight injury, which I found interesting. I thought, "Now I can beat you on the padel court, because this is my advantage." You're injured because you're coaching at Barcelona and participating in team training. In football, when Glenn Hoddle used to coach, people would say, "The coach is better than the players he manages." When Mark Hughes coached, people would say, "His volleys are better than the players he manages." Can you still play with these Barcelona players now? Can you still reach their level?
Thiago: If it's in a smaller space, like small-sided games, rondos, or some passing drills, I can still play with them. But on an open pitch, on a full-sized field, it would be more difficult because of my previous injuries.
After retirement, even a minor injury won't completely stop you from training. So as long as you're having fun, you find ways to keep playing.
So we won't see Thiago making a comeback?
No, no, no. I tried to understand what was wrong with my hip, not to convince myself to come back. But my body simply wouldn't allow it—it wouldn't allow me to continue playing football.
You're only 34. I imagine many people would find that regrettable, because you played such beautiful football. You played for the biggest clubs—Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool—and you won championships. Everyone liked you. I think as a player, you were almost universally loved. But injuries ended it too soon. Perhaps many people don't realize you're only 34. Is there anything sad about this for you? Do you feel sad or a sense of loss, thinking you should still be playing, but your body just won't let you continue at the highest level?
Yes. When it happened, of course you feel sad and a great sense of regret. But if you ask me now, "If your body allowed it, would you still want to play football?" I would say no.
Because you've made peace with yourself and accepted the situation. I tried to console myself by thinking: maybe my talent, or what you mentioned about me playing beautiful football... I also suffered a lot in my career. Perhaps this talent wasn't meant for me to play football, but to help others. After my career ended, I shifted my energy towards that.
Didn't you feel a sudden void? You no longer have to train or play. Your teammates who recently played with you at Liverpool are still walking into the dressing room, still playing in front of tens of thousands of spectators, and you should have had all that too. Don't you feel any anger about accepting all this?
No. I've played for the best teams in the world, won all the major championships, and played with or against my childhood idols. At the same time, I was able to help young players who joined the team. So my career had both these idols and these young players, which was a very beautiful combination. I'm very satisfied with the career I had.
Among the players you've played with, who was the best?
I would say I really admired the Barcelona trio: Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, and Sergio Busquets. Because I played that position too. What they did, not just in training but in matches, was something you rarely saw from other players. Few people could play the game at their level. So I would choose those three.
Everyone else would say Messi.
Messi... Messi is from another world. But when you can't score as many goals as a forward or block opponents' shots at the last minute like a center-back, you naturally use players who play the same position as yourself as a reference. So I chose those three.
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