Belgian international defender Vincent Kompany has hung up his boots at the age of 34 to become manager of Anderlecht on a four-year contract, the club announced Monday.
Kompany joined Anderlecht from Manchester City in 2019 as player-manager and now takes over from Franky Vercauteren, who had been handling coaching duties, in a purely managerial role.
“I want to fully commit to my role as a coach and need 100% of my time and focus for it. That’s why I’m quitting as a football player,” said Kompany, who enjoyed a trophy-laden 11-year spell in England with City.
Kompany’s first game in charge will come on Sunday as Anderlecht take on Mouscron.
After making his international debut as a 17-year-old, he went on to play 89 times for Belgium, notably leading them to third in the 2018 World Cup.
