Arsenal defender admits he’d prefer to retire than play again
The World Cup winner is set to take his first steps into management when he begins a role as Arsenal's new academy manager from the start of the 2018-19 campaign.
Mertesacker has, however, continued to be part of Arsene Wenger's first-team squad, but last featured in the third-round FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest in January.
The 33-year-old gave a wide-ranging interview with German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, in which he addressed the issues he tackled on the pitch as well as looking ahead to the next chapter of his career.
"Some days you realize that everything is a burden, both physically and mentally... but you have to deliver without a doubt, even if you are injured," former Germany international Mertesacker said.
"In the moments before a game starts, my stomach turns around as if I had to vomit. Then I have to choke so violently until my eyes water."
"Everyone says I should enjoy the last year, to play as much as possible and take everything in, [but] I would rather sit on the bench or -- even better -- in the stands, and then, for the first time in my life, aged more than 30, I will feel free."