Hugo Lloris says he won’t retire at Tottenham Hotspur

There was a time, not too long ago, when Spurs fans had to seriously worry about Hugo Lloris leaving their club. The fear was that Hugo would eventually be drawn to a bigger club by the allure of a raise and Champions League football.

That hasn’t come to pass. Lloris has spoken before about how Mauricio Pochettino convinced him to buy in to the project happening at Tottenham. Lloris did, and has now spent five years as Pochettino’s starting goalkeeper in a team that has participated in the Champions League for three years in a row.

But Hugo will turn 32 this coming December. He can’t play forever, and it seems he has started to turn his attention to which club he will one day retire at. Our friend Dan Kilpatrick of The Evening Standard has more:

Lloris will have spent a decade at Spurs if he sees out his contract until 2022 and conventional wisdom suggests the goalkeeper, who turns 32 in December, is only just entering his prime. Asked if Spurs would be his last club, Lloris said: “I don’t think so.”

Lloris, who captained his country to World Cup glory in July, joined Spurs from Lyon in 2012 and he has previously been linked with a return to Ligue 1. He has ruled out joining Monaco because of their rivalry with his boyhood club, Nice, claiming he feels “like a Nice citizen” and the city is part of his DNA.

In a question-and-answer session with French broadcaster Telefoot, Lloris also confirmed that he had not had any offers to leave Spurs following the World Cup.

Stories about players leaving Spurs can cause a panic, but there’s no need for that here. This is just an aging player who is thinking about how he will eventually take the final steps of his career. Reading this makes one think that the Frenchman’s last club will indeed be OGC Nice.

Lloris has been Spurs’ starter in goal since he took over for Brad Friedel in October of 2012. His departure would surely mean a new signing or two between the posts. Paulo Gazzaniga has had his moments, but neither him or Michel Vorm would be able to adequately replace Lloris. Alfie Whiteman seems like a decent prospect, but could he become a world class keeper?

The most likely scenario is that Spurs will eventually have to spend a large transfer fee on another goalie. It’s not something that will happen as soon as this summer, but it’s something to think about for the next couple years.

Lloris definitely hasn’t shown any signs of aging. Just this past weekend he was arguably Spurs’ man of the match in the 1-0 victory over West Ham United. Plus, goalkeepers can play into old age easier than field players. It’s unclear how long Hugo wants to play, but as of now he is very much still one of the best in the world.