Rob Page revealed he has offered Gareth Bale the chance to remain in the Wales setup in some capacity following his retirement from professional football.
The 33-year-old won 111 caps for his country and scored 41 international goals but called time on his career this week, just over a month after captaining his country at the World Cup in Qatar.
And Page has revealed details of the conversation he held with Bale the day before the former Southampton, Tottenham, Real Madrid and Los Angeles star officially announced his decision to quit the game.
"It was a brief conversation on Sunday. There will be further conversations down the line because I want to have a discussion about Qatar and how it went over there and have some feedback from a player's point of view," said the Wales boss.
"Me and Gareth speak quite a bit anyway, in between camps. So it wasn't unusual. I just had a text message off him asking for a quick conversation. We've done that in the past.
"I got home, phoned him and he just said he's made the decision. He told LA and before he wanted to announce it and tell anybody else, he gave me the ring and told me that he was retiring from football completely, which did come as a surprise at that moment in time. I wasn't expecting that from him in that phone call.
"But when you take a step back and strip the emotion out of it, I get it. I understand why he's done it and for him to finish at the top of his game, I completely understand it.
"So it was a brief conversation and I said I would love for him to stay involved in some capacity. When you've got a player like Gareth Bale, you want to keep them involved in some capacity. It's got to be right for him and his family and we'll see how we can make it happen.
"He is passionate about his country and our football team in particular. Without putting myself 100% on it, I think he'll be more than happy to help out in any way that's needed."
Wales kick-start their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign against Croatia in March, and Page will need to name a new captain following Bale's exit from the game.
And Page has confirmed he already has a new skipper in mind, although he refused to divulge who will wear the armband for the Red Dragons in the future.
"It'll come as no surprise when it's eventually announced," he added. "We've got a good group of players and there are senior players who lead by example anyway. But there's one that stands out for me.
"We've already pre-empted this. There'll be a right time and place and I'll be announcing it, but I have got someone in mind."
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