Lewandowski & 6 other players who prematurely retired from international football

Former Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United stars are among those who prematurely retired from international football.

In the modern day, it’s becoming increasingly regular for players to play into their late thirties, but some of them still decide to retire from international football at a younger age.

We’ve looked into this phenomenon and have found seven players who called it quits on their international careers prematurely.

Robert Lewandowski

For many footballers, retiring from international football at the age of 36 would seem quite normal, but that’s not the case with Lewandowski.

The Barcelona forward still ranks among the best strikers in world football, but has decided to quit the national team because of a fall-out with manager Michal Probierz.

Lewandowski dropped the bombshell announcement on social media after being dropped as Poland’s captain by Probierz.

“Taking into account the circumstances and a loss of trust in the coach, I have decided to resign from playing for the Poland national team for as long as he remains in charge,” Lewandowski said on X.

“I hope I will still have another chance to play again for the best fans in the world.”

Let’s wait and see if he decides to reverse his decision.

Lionel Messi

After losing his fourth major final with Argentina, Messi made the shock decision to retire from international football back in 2016.

Thankfully, his retirement only lasted a month or so before he was back playing for Argentina.

Since then, he’s won four international trophies and is still going strong for his country today at the ripe old age of 37.

We simply cannot imagine a world where Messi never played international football after 2016.

Paul Scholes

After England had struggled to accommodate Scholes, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard into the same side, Scholes made the decision to retire from international football at the age of 29.

He continued to produce world-class performances at club level well into his thirties, but never managed to hit those same heights with England.

“I had a young family at the time and going away for England for ten days at a time, sometimes six weeks in the summer, it just wasn’t ideal and I wasn’t enjoying it,” he told BBC 5Live.

“I know a lot was made of Sven-Goran Eriksson playing me on the left-hand side of midfield but that was never the problem.

“My form in the last 20 or 30 caps wasn’t quite good enough and Steven and Frank were two top-class players who he went with centrally.

“I was on the left but I played there many times for United and was quite successful there, scored a few goals so it was never really why I left England. It was just a personal choice.”

Gerd Muller

The legendary German forward stepped back from the national team at the age of 28, shortly after winning the 1974 World Cup.

He reportedly called it quits on his Germany career following an argument with the German Football Association at the post-tournament celebration.

Muller was said to be unhappy that players’ wives were not allowed to attend the event, while the officials’ wives were allowed to.

After stepping away from international football, Muller continued to score goals at a freakishly good rate for Bayern Munich for another seven years.

Alan Shearer

Shearer retired from international football after Euro 2000 at the age of 29.

Despite speculation over his return to the squad being rife during the 2002 World Cup and 2004 European Championship, he stuck to his guns and remained retired.

Samir Nasri

After being left out of France’s 2014 World Cup squad, Nasri called it quits on his international career at the age of 27.

The Frenchman reportedly spent two years pondering his decision to retire and being left out of their World Cup squad was the final nail in the coffin for the midfielder.

“With the French national team, I don’t feel like it any more,” Nasri told reporters at the time.

“I don’t want to be there. I am not happy, I don’t want to go there any more.

“My family suffered from this, and I don’t want them to suffer. I think it’s wiser to stop it and focus on my club career.

“I’ve been thinking about it since the 2012 European Championship. This is just a confirmation of what I’ve been feeling.”

Kevin-Prince Boateng

Boateng stepped away from international football at the age of 24, citing fatigue from travel as one of the reasons he stepped away.

He then briefly returned to international football to take part in the 2014 World Cup, although his second stint with Ghana was just as brief.

The midfielder was sent home early from the tournament following a bust-up with head-coach James Kwesi Appiah, and he subsequently never played for the national team again.

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