Luis Suarez, a striker for Uruguay, has declared his retirement from international competition.
The 37-year-old forced back tears as he declared that Saturday’s (00:30 BST) World Cup qualifier between Uruguay and Paraguay will be his final game for his nation.
With 69 goals in 142 games, the former forward for Liverpool and Barcelona is Uruguay’s all-time top scorer. He made his Uruguayan debut against Colombia in February 2007.
Suarez represented Uruguay in nine significant international competitions.
When he handled on the line in the last minute of extra time in the 2010 World Cup quarterfinal, he was sent off and prevented Ghana from going to the semi-finals.
After Asamoah Gyan, the former striker for Sunderland, missed the ensuing penalty attempt, Uruguay won the penalty shootout and advanced to the World Cup semifinals for the first time in forty years.
With four goals, Suarez finished as the second-highest scorer of the 2011 Copa America in Argentina, leading Uruguay to victory.
He scored twice to help Uruguay defeat England in the group stages of the 2014 World Cup, but he was banned for four months after biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini, thus he was unable to play in the knockout stages.
“We did go through difficult moments. There were many,” Suarez said during his retirement press conference. “Personally, it was worse for me after my massive mistake in 2014. But there’s nothing that I would reproach.”
Suarez would go on to compete in five Copa America editions and the World Cups in 2018 and 2022.
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