Martinez: Lahm still has four years left in him

Javi Martinez believes FC Bayern München team-mate Philipp Lahm should forget about retiring and rather continue playing until 2020.

Lahm has revealed that his current contract, which ends in 2018, will be his last. He also hinted that he could retire at the end of the 2016/17 season.

However, Martinez doesn’t want the Bayern captain to hang up his boots. The 33-year-old remains as influential as ever, and could be a significant factor for Bayern in their Bundesliga clash with title rivals Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

“He still looks so young and fresh,” Martinez told Bild ahead of the crunch clash. “He’s not going to retire, I don’t believe that. Philipp’s got to carry on playing. Philipp can manage another four years.

“Seriously — I played with Aritz Aduriz at Athletic Bilbao and he’s now 35 and still plays like a young lad. Nobody cares about age in football.”

A win for Bayern this weekend could see them move three points clear of second place, depending on what Leipzig do at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, while three points for Borussia Dortmund could catapult them from fifth to third.