UAE could well be former Liverpool star Robbie Keane's next destination - as player or coach

Well-travelled Irishman not ruling out stint in Emirates, a country he has often visited, but he will take time to arrive at decision

Marcelo Lippi, back row third from left, Pele, centre, players and Hublot represnetatives pose for photos at the Match of Friendship event in Dubai. Anna Nielsen For The National

Pele during the Match of Friendship. Anna Nielsen For The National

From Left: Serginho, Gianluca Zambrotta and Michel Salgado during the Match of Friendship. Anna Nielsen For The National

Serginho and Michel Salgado during the Match of Friendship. Anna Nielsen For The National

Spectators watch the Match of Friendship from the stands. Anna Nielsen For The National

Marcel Desailly, left, and Gianluca Zambrotta compete in the Match of Friendship. Anna Nielsen For The National

Marcel Desailly in action during the Match of Friendship. Anna Nielsen For The National

Goalkeeper Didi makes a save during the Match of Friendship. Anna Nielsen For The National

Michel Salgado, centre, on the ball during the Match of Friendship. Anna Nielsen For The National

Michel Salgado takes on Marcel Desailly during the Match of Friendship. Anna Nielsen For The National

Michel Salgado at the Match of Friendship. Anna Nielsen For The National

Marco Materazzi shakes hands with Robbie Keane and Marcel Desally at the Match of Friendship. Anna Nielsen For The National

Former Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool forward Robbie Keane has yet to decide whether to hang up his boots or move into coaching – and has not ruled out UAE football as a potential next destination.

The well-travelled Irishman has been spending time in Dubai following a season in the Indian Super League with Kolkata side ATK, which included contesting his final three matches as player-manager.

On Sunday, Keane participated in Hublot's latest "Match of Friendship" in the shadow of the Burj Khalifa. Speaking afterwards, the Republic of Ireland's all-time leading scorer said he planned to use the downtime to evaluate where next for his career.

“I’m going to take a few weeks off, have a break and decide what I want to do, whether I carry on playing, which is an option,” Keane, 37, said. “I could easily play for another couple of years, or I could start going down the coaching role.

“As I said, I’ll take a bit of time to consider and then we’ll see. But by no means will I be sitting idle.

"It’s just seeing my options. I finished in India, had nine starts, nine goals, so I definitely have another good year, two years left in me scoring a few goals. There’s no question about that.

"For me, it’s just about the right opportunities. There’s always options, but we’ll see."

Keane said he had a good stint in terms of the experience and learning going forward to be a coach. "That’s something I’ve been very clear about, that I want to get into in the future," he said.

"Whether or not it’ll be next year or the year after, who knows? But if a good opportunity came up in terms of coaching, I’d have to sit down and seriously consider it.

“For me, it’s about learning. It’s not about jumping into something and then regretting after. A manager’s career could be 30 years, so I’ve got time. I’m not in any rush to jump into anything that is going to maybe set me up for failure or because it may sound attractive, but is not the right one for me.”

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Keane, who has scored close to 400 senior goals in a career spanning 20 years, said he would look at offers both in Asia and Europe. A regular visitor to Dubai, he spent a brief time last year training with Arabian Gulf League club Al Ahli and was impressed by both the standard of players and the facilities.

“Fantastic," he said. “I’ve been coming here for 12 years. It’s a place I’m very, very close to. It’s certainly very attractive in terms of the people, the good standard of living for my family also. Training with Al Ahli was great; I met a good few people. I really enjoyed it, so who knows?”

Keane attended last Thursday’s President’s Cup quarter-final between Fujairah and Al Ain on invitation from Fujairah manager Diego Maradona.

Asked if he could consider extending his playing career in the UAE, he said he "would never say never".

"It’s certainly something that would interest me, of course. I always keep my options open. As I said, it’s a place I’m very, very used to," he said.

“I got invited to go along by Diego to watch the game. It was good to see him and he invited me for dinner. We’ll see what the future holds.”