Former Manchester City star Ilkay Gundogan has retired from international football. The midfielder took to social media to announce his decision, not long after representing Germany in the European Championship earlier this summer.
The hosts Germany, were eliminated in the quarter-finals by winners Spain. Gundogan wrote: "After a few weeks of consideration, I have come to the conclusion that it is time to end my national team career.
I look back with great pride on 82 international matches for my home country – a number I could never have dreamed of when I made my debut for the senior national team in 2011. READ MORE: Sensational return, Pep Guardiola call, Man City dilemma - Ilkay Gundogan transfer decided READ MORE: My Man City debut stressed me out - so I couldn't believe what Savinho did "My highlight was definitely the huge honour of being able to lead the team as captain at our home European Championships last summer.
After all these years, we finally managed to make the nation proud again – I’m very happy that I was able to play a part in that. "But even before the tournament, I felt a certain tiredness in my body and also in my head, which got me thinking.