Pablo Zabaleta is eyeing a move to the Middle East when his contract with West Ham expires.
The Argentinian defender has talked up the chances of him moving away from Europe during the latter stages of his career.
Zabaleta is out of contract with West Ham at the end of the season and is being tipped to move on from the club.
He has been linked with moves to Italy, but it now appears that a move to the Middle East could be an option for the former Manchester City man.
Speaking to Arab News, Zabaleta was quizzed on his future and where his next move might take him.
At the end I will know what I want to do and where to go, but I would like one or two more years to carry on playing. At 34 I think it might be the right time to try something different, have a new experience.
If I carry on playing in Europe, Italy is one of those leagues I haven’t played, but I have always been thinking about the Middle East. I first went to the UAE for the Under-20 World Cup in 2003 and have seen how much the region has changed.
I’ve been to Saudi Arabia and Qatar with the national team and you see the fantastic progress, football standards improving and passion of fans. The League is not as long as in Europe, but there’s still the chance to play for trophies, to play big games competitively like in the Asian Champions League.
The UAE clearly left a lasting impression on the defender when he was at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup back in 2003.
Zabaleta has also been linked with off-the-pitch roles, but it seems the defender is not so keen to hang up his boots just yet.
