Former Newcastle and Aston Villa defender has now turned down job offer to become national manager

International football management is not for everyone and while playing games like FIFA (EAFC) and Football Manager will have you believe that being offered the role of managing a nation's football team is the pinnacle of the sport, not everyone sees it that way in reality.

Look at Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe for example, while he has admitted that taking the England job is something he could maybe be interested in somewhere down the line, right now, as the job is on the table with the FA and most of the country seemingly keen on him taking the role, Howe is happy at Newcastle with the day-to-day of club management.

That also seems to be the case for former Newcastle defender Habib Beye who was just approached to take over the role of Senegal manager.

According to french outlet L'Equipe, Beye rejected the opportunity to lead his country who he represented 46 times as a player.

Getty Images

Habib Beye had an awesome first season at Newcastle

Beye, who spent two years on Tyneside before moving to Aston Villa reportedly gave the excuse that he's not interested in international management at this stage of his career.

Habib Beye signed for Newcastle under Sam Allardyce late in the 2007 summer transfer window for around £2 million.

He went on to scoop Newcastle's player of the year award that season after proving to be an absolute bargain.

Beye moved to Aston Villa to save his career after Newcastle's relegation

The following season Newcastle were relegated and while Beye had signalled his intentions to stay at Newcastle, the unravelling behind the scenes saw him jump ship to Aston Villa for the sake of his career.

Now 46, Beye is without a club having managed French club Red Star for over 100 games between 2021 and 2024 guiding them into Ligue 2 for the first time in six years. Beye left the role in the summer in the hopes of landing a Ligue 1 job but remains without a club.

It seems Beye is choosing unemployment over international management, and we don't blame him at all.