Thiago was interviewed by David Ornstein at The Athletic, where he reflects on the injury that forced him to retire early, discusses working with managers like Guardiola, Klopp, and Flick, and shares his thoughts on beautiful football and the development of young players. This article is the first part of that exclusive interview.

Host (Emma Payton): Hello everyone, and welcome to The Athletic FC podcast, Truth or Padel Extra. I'm Emma Payton, and joining me today is David Ornstein, host of Truth or Padel. Hello, great to have you back.

Ornstein: Hello, truly great to see you again. Delighted to be here.

Host (Emma Payton): Yes, great to be back. This is the third episode in our series.

Ornstein: Yes, with all due respect to our other guests, this particular guest is truly special. He is a footballer and a wonderful person. To record this episode, we made a special trip to Barcelona.

Host (Emma Payton): You've set the stage well. Before we reveal our guest, a brief reminder for our listeners: Truth or Padel is our latest limited series at The Athletic. We ask difficult questions to famous football guests—questions that would normally be uncomfortable in a regular interview—all while playing padel.

Ornstein: Exactly right.

Host (Emma Payton): Okay, explain the rules for us.

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 must answer. Our guest for this episode is a talented Spanish international midfielder who played for Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool, and recently joined Barcelona's head coaching staff under Flick—Thiago Alcântara.

Host (Emma Payton): You've built everyone's anticipation. Now, let's hear a short clip from the episode.

DO: Speaking of Messi, is there anything he doesn't master? Or in life, in sport, is there anything he can't do well? Think carefully, because I'm going to win this point. Tell me about a weakness your friend doesn't know about.

Thiago: That's difficult. We're talking about the best footballer on the planet. I think in other sports, he might be as good as us. But in padel, we might be better than him.

That can't be right.

Thiago: We can say that we play padel better than Messi.

Even me?

Thiago: One hundred percent.

DO: That's great, I love that, really.

By coincidence, as that clip played, I just realized that a photo of his father was hanging on the wall of our studio. This wasn't planned—it was the great Mazinho. So the football talent truly runs in their blood, especially since Thiago Alcântara's brother is also a player. After the match, we sat down for a chat. As you heard at the beginning of the episode, we talked about his injury, how it ended his career prematurely, and how he feels about it. Of course, we also discussed the managers Thiago has worked with, including Pep Guardiola, Jürgen Klopp, and Luis Enrique. He shared who he thinks is the best among them and what he learned from each manager. Finally, like all guests on Truth or Padel, we asked Thiago: If he could give advice to his 18-year-old self, what would he say?

Host (Emma Payton): Those are all great questions. Where did you start the conversation?

Ornstein: I picked up on something interesting he'd said earlier that day. Let's hear it.

This morning, when you arrived, you mentioned having a minor injury, and I thought that was interesting. I thought, "Now I can beat you on the padel court, because that's my advantage." You're injured because you're now coaching at Barcelona and participating in team training. In football, when Glenn Hoddle used to manage, everyone would say, "The manager is better than the players he coaches." When Mark Hughes managed, people would also say, "His volley is better than his players'." Can you still play with the Barcelona players now? Can you still match their level?

Thiago: If it's in a smaller space, like a small game, a rondo, or some passing drills, I can still play with them. But if the field is wide open, playing on a full 100-meter pitch would be difficult because of my previous injury issues.

After retirement, even minor injuries won't completely stop you from staying active. So, as long as you're having fun, you'll find a way to keep playing.

So we won't see Thiago playing again?

No, no, no. I'm trying to understand what's wrong with my hip, not to convince myself to come back. But my body doesn't allow it—it doesn't allow me to continue playing.

You're only 34 years old. I imagine many people would consider that a shame. Because you play such beautiful football. You played for the biggest clubs—Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool—and you won trophies. Everyone loved you. I think you're almost universally admired as a player. But an injury ended it too soon. Many people probably didn't realize you're only 34 now. Is there something about this that makes you sad? Do you feel sadness, loss, a sense that you should still be playing, but your body is preventing you from continuing at the highest level?

Yes. When it happens, of course you're sad, and you feel a lot of regret. But if you asked me now, "If your body allowed it, would you want to play again?" I would say no.

Because you've made peace with yourself and accepted the situation at that time, and everything that happened. I try to console myself by thinking: perhaps my talent, or what you just called my beautiful football... I also suffered a lot during my career. Perhaps this talent wasn't meant for me to play football, but to help others. When my playing career ended, I redirected that energy toward this.

Don't you feel a sudden emptiness? You no longer need to train, no longer need to play matches. Your teammates who recently played with you at Liverpool are still going into the dressing room, still playing in front of tens of thousands of spectators, and you should be experiencing that too. Don't you feel anger? Like you said, you've accepted everything?

No. I played for the best teams in the world, won every trophy I could win, and played with and against childhood idols. At the same time, young players were joining the team, and I could help them. So my career had both these idols and these young players, which is a beautiful combination. I'm satisfied with the career I've had.

Among all the players you've played with, who is the best?

I would say I greatly admired the trio at Barcelona: Xavi, Iniesta, and Busquets. Because I also played in that position. The things they did, not just in training but in matches, are difficult to see in other players. Very few people could play at their level. So I would choose those three.

Everyone else would say Messi.

Messi... Messi is from another world. But if you can't score as many goals as a striker, and you can't block opposition shots in the final moments like a center-back or other defender, you use players in your same position as your benchmark. So I chose those three.

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