History is replete with cases professional footballers quitting to represent their national teams, either as as a result of coercion or as a personal decision.
Various reasons like injury, disagreement with the technical bench, among others push some of them to making such moves.
With the recent retirement being that of Moroccan forward Hakim Ziyech, TeamKenya highlights four footballers who have recently quit the national football scene.
Hakim Ziyech
Chelsea forward Hakim Ziyech is the recent player to announce his decision to retire from international football.
This came amid a long-term falling out with Morocco coach Vahid Halilhodzic where Ziyech was left out of the national squad for AFCON 2021.
Halilhodzic explained that there was no intention of selecting the 29-year-old attacker for the World Cup qualification playoff tie against the Democratic Republic of Congo in March 2022.
Following that decision Ziyech has decided to end his career with his national side and focus on his club Chelsea.
The Moroccan first represented the Netherlands at youth level before making his senior debut for Morocco in 2018.
Ziyech has represented Morocco in 40 games and scored 17 goals with his last appearance coming in June 2021 against Burkina Faso.
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Asamoah Gyan
Ghana's all-time goal-scorer Asamoah Gyan back in 2019 retired from international football a month before the start of the Africa Cup of Nations.
His decision to retire was controversial as he was replaced as Ghana's captain, with Andre Ayew being given the armband.
"If the decision of the coach is to give captaincy of the tournament to another player while I am named in the team for the tournament, I wish to recuse myself from the tournament. I also wish to retire from the national team permanently," Gyan's statement read.
The 33-year-old scored 51 goals in 106 international appearances setting two Ghana national team records, which included scoring at six consecutive Nations Cup finals and three goals at the World Cup between 2006 and 2014.
Victor Wanyama
Kenya's national team former skipper Victor Wanyama announced his retirement from national football in 2021 after 14 years with the team.
Wanyama made his national debut against Nigeria with him also captaining Harambee Stars at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Egypt.
"The time has come to hand over the team to the next generation so that they too can make their mark and help our country reach even greater heights," Wanyama’s statement read.
During his exit, his elder brother Mariga pointed out that among the reasons that led to Wanyama's retirement from the national team was because the former FKF regime allegedly pushed him out.
Victor Wanyama featured in 52 matches for Harambee Stars where he scored a total of 7 goals.
Kevin Prince Boateng
Former Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng, announced his retirement from the Ghana National team at the age of 24.
Boateng who was born in Germany chose to represent Ghana in the international scene in 2010.
He scored his only international goal against the United States in the last 16, which made the Lions of Teranga the third African team ever in the quarterfinals.
According to Kevin, the reason for him quitting the national team was because of the physical demands of playing for the club and country at high levels which were taking a toll on his health.
The player added that for him to remain healthy and stay off any injuries, he had consulted his doctors and family over the matter and had decided to excuse himself from national duties.
Joel Matip
Matip retired from international football back in 2016 after citing mismanagement issues and bad experiences with former coaching staff at international level.
Matip back in 2017 explained that he tried his best to play and represent Cameroon but the environment did not allow him to do it.
“It is Africa and you can never compare it to European things. I’ll concentrate on Liverpool. It’s done ,” Matip stated earlier.
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