CAIRO: Ahly manager Manuel Jose still has faith in Mohamed Abou-Trika but believes the veteran playmaker will retire from professional football in a year or two.
"Ahly have a lot of ageing players in the squad. They have vast experience but they are not as they used to be," Jose told reporters on Tuesday.
"Abou-Trika has a year or two left in his career," he added.
The Egypt international, who turns 33 in November, has been a cult figure at Ahly since joining the Cairo club in 2004 from Tersana.
This season, however, Abou-Trika along with the likes of Wael Gomaa and Ahmed Hassan has come under scrutiny, with pundits questioning his physical abilities.
"Abou-Trika and his fans need to realize that he’s getting older and won’t be able to maintain his level of performance," added Jose, a long-standing admirer of the talisman.
