Timm Klose is considering ending his 16-year playing career and moving into coaching after spending time working with Bristol City's Under-14s before his Ashton Gate exit.
The 34-year-old is back in his hometown of Basel after his contract was mutually terminated on transfer deadline day. Swiss international Klose had fallen out of favour in Nigel Pearson's plans with his final game coming in the Carabao Cup defeat to Lincoln in November.
It's been a difficult six months for Klose. In October, Pearson confirmed the centre-back had returned to Switzerland to deal with some personal issues and also struggled with knee problems towards the beginning of the campaign.
During an interview with Swiss publication Blick, Klose went into more detail about his departure from BS3 a year after signing an initial short-term deal, and his preparations for the future. He said: "It's a cool situation, I'm relaxed and completely open to everything that comes now.
"I started my A-diploma in England and coached the U14s at Bristol." The article also states the personal difficulties that Klose was dealing with during the season including the death of a family member, another close relative undergoing a serious heart operation and also the sad passing of his former team-mate and close friend Nicolas Schindelholz.
Schindelholz, who played alongside Klose at FC Thun, died from lung cancer aged 34 in September. The duo also came through the Basel Under-21 side together.
"Sad things have happened that have cost a lot of energy," Klose added. "The family was in the foreground. Football has become a minor matter during this time. But the club showed enormous understanding for my situation."
Klose is now looking to remain in Basel after playing in Germany with Nuremberg and Wolfsburg before heading to England with Norwich and City. Talking about the termination of his contract, Klose admitted it simply came down to planning for next season.
He said: "It was also about squad planning for next season. It was okay with me then."
In the summer, Klose opened up on the decision to extend his City contract for an extra year and seriously considered the prospect of retirement. Speaking on the Norwich-related 'The TNC Podcast', the central defender said: "I had a few offers this summer, we had a few options I would say because my family is getting bigger now so we had to make decisions on where we wanted to go next or we wanted to go home or just call it a day and stop playing football. In the end, I think Bristol City was the right thing to do.
"Maybe I go into coaching or management. The only thing I want to do now is just enjoy my last years. I don't know how much more I have in my legs to keep up with the youngsters, they are getting better every year."
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