May 21 (Reuters) - Marcelo Bielsa hinted on Thursday that he may not remain as manager of Uruguay beyond July, saying that his job with the team ends with the World Cup.
"Our job ends with the World Cup," Bielsa said at an event organised by the Uruguayan Football Association.
Although he did not elaborate on his remarks, local media reported that the Argentine will not continue once his current contract expires at the end of the June 11-July 19 tournament to be played in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
“It is a miracle in any professional’s sporting career to take part in the World Cup,” he said. “I will be forever grateful to Uruguay for allowing me to enjoy a competition like the World Cup.”
Bielsa will coach at his third World Cup following Argentina’s group-stage elimination in 2002 and Chile’s round-of-16 loss to hosts Brazil in 2014.
Coming off a successful stint at Leeds United, Bielsa took over Uruguay in 2023 following Diego Alonso’s departure and enjoyed a strong start, guiding 'La Celeste' through the CONMEBOL qualifiers and to third place at the 2024 Copa America.
Yet his relationship with the squad gradually began to erode after he was publicly criticised by Uruguay’s all-time leading scorer Luis Suarez, amid a series of internal conflicts that raised doubts over his management of the team.
Uruguay’s form has been inconsistent recently, with draws against England and Algeria during the March international window, as well as a 5-1 defeat to the U.S. in November.
Uruguay will kick off their World Cup campaign on June 15 against Group H rivals Saudi Arabia before facing Cape Verde and Spain.
(Report by Javier Leira; Writing by Janina Nuno Rios; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
