Cosmin Contra announces that he is considering retiring from coaching

Cosmin Contra, coach of Qatar’s Al-Arabi and former manager of Romania, is considering retiring from coaching after his contract expires in the summer of 2028. The 50-year-old coach said he does not believe he will return to a European team and that he has been thinking for some time about stepping away from the profession.

Contra said the decision depends on how things develop during the remainder of his time at Al-Arabi and on the results he achieves. “I don’t think Europe is for me anymore. (...) I’ve been thinking for some time about retiring,” the coach said, as quoted by Prima Sport.

Cosmin Contra began his coaching career on the bench at Timișoara, then managed teams such as Fuenlabrada, Petrolul Ploiești, Getafe, Guangzhou City, Alcorcon and Dinamo. Between September 2017 and November 2019, he was manager of Romania.

He subsequently coached Al-Ittihad, Damac and Al-Kholood, before taking over at Al-Arabi in October 2025. Contra has won two trophies as a coach: the Romanian Cup with Petrolul, in 2013, and the League Cup with Dinamo, in 2017. As a player, he made 73 appearances and scored seven goals for the Romania national team.

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