Luis Suarez has this week announced his retirement from the Uruguay national team after 17 years at the top of the international stage.
The Inter Miami striker will this Friday play his last ever game for Uruguay against Paraguay as Suarez brings the curtain down on what has been an extraordinary international career, with the 2011 Copa America triumph the notable high point.
Competing at four FIFA World Cups and even featuring for Uruguay at this summer’s Copa America, Suarez will leave the national team as his country’s top goalscorer by some distance after nearly two decades of leading the line.
And Suarez has revealed his reasoning behind leaving the national team at this stage.
Suarez says ‘this is the ideal moment’ to leave the Uruguay national team
Speaking in a press conference to announce the news, Suarez revealed that this international window was the ‘ideal moment’ to call time on his Uruguay career, with the attacker coming off the back of a Copa America where he hardly played.
Couple with the fact that Suarez is enjoying a record-breaking season with Inter Miami, and it makes sense why the striker has chosen now to call time on the international game, with the forward seemingly focused on seeing out his remaining years in Florida.
Suarez said when explaining his decision to retire from Uruguay: “I am retiring because I want to step aside. I am 37-years-old, there are a lot of talented players and I know it would be difficult to get to the next World Cup.
“It is comforting to know I can retire on my terms and not have to retire due to injuries, or to not being called up. I want to say goodbye here, with my people. This is the ideal moment.”
Suarez focusing on Inter Miami is massive news
Suarez has been arguably Inter Miami’s best player this season, with the striker missing just a handful of games despite his age and injury concerns and giving 110% to the Herons every time he’s on the pitch.
And with Suarez now out of the international picture, the veteran striker can solely focus on winning silverware for Inter Miami, with the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup up for grabs this season.
Indeed, Suarez will be eager to add to his trophy cabinet this year, and the attacker having his full attention on Inter Miami could take the forward’s game up another level.