The Wales captain and Tottenham Hotspur defender has been speaking about his future in the game and once he hangs up his boots

Tottenham defender Ben Davies has admitted that he might "cross that divide" from football player to the boardroom in the years after he hangs up his boots.

The 33-year-old has been at Spurs for more than 12 years and has played 366 times for the north London club, scoring 12 goals from the back and providing 26 assists. Davies is the definition of a club stalwart, loved by every coach that walks through the door and popular among his team-mates.

However, the Wales captain, with 104 caps to his name, has been thinking about his future in recent years. He holds a degree in Business Management and has also earned his UEFA A Licence in coaching. Davies was appointed to the Football Association of Wales' Council and spent some time this week discussing the future of Welsh football with fellow executives.

Davies has no inclination to hang up his boots just yet and scored for Roberto De Zerbi's side in the recent Premier League win against Coventry, but in the future he would like to move into the boardroom, unless a big coaching opportunity arises.

"Hopefully [retirement] is still quite a few years away. I feel fit, I love playing football and want to play as long as you can, but you’re a long time retired in this game," the Spurs left-back said in an interview with the BBC.

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"I don't see myself just doing nothing after football. For me, it's a great learning experience as well, right? To see how it all works behind the scenes in the world of football. This is a great start."

He added: "It's hard to put a nail on it where your future lies. If something falls on my lap in the coaching world, then maybe that will be my route, but I want to be able to use my expertise and what I've learned in the best way that it can be.

"And I don't know what angle that takes after football yet, but I'd like to be someone who maybe, at some point, crosses that divide from a player to the boardroom or a front-office kind of role, because I haven't seen too many players over the years who have done that. I think it definitely adds a pretty good perspective when making decisions.

"Ultimately, I’m here with the FAW with a player’s voice and having played at the highest level for a long time, I want to be able to maintain those standards and bring [Wales] up to the levels that I’ve seen in football and put us in a good place going forward."