Uruguay’s Luis Suárez is retiring from international football

Uruguayan star footballer Luis Suarez has announced his retirement from international football.

The 37-year-old striker confirmed during a press conference yesterday that Saturday’s qualifying match against Paraguay will be the last match of his international career.

The Former Liverpool and Barcelona striker is the top goal-scorer for Uruguay, scoring 69 goals in 143 appearances.

In a press conference, the former Barcelona star said, “I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, and I think it’s a good time to retire. When I play my last match with the national team, I want to be calm, I will be as excited to play the last match as I was when I played the first match for Uruguay in 2007.”

He has played nine major international tournaments for Uruguay and sparked major controversy twice.

In the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, Luis Suarez was sent off for a goal-line header in the last minute of extra time to prevent Ghana from advancing to the semi-finals. However, Uruguay won this match, and Luis Suarez is still intensely disliked in Ghana. After this match, the Ghanaian players did not shake hands with Suarez.

The second major controversy came in the 2014 FIFA World Cup match between Uruguay and Italy when he bit the Italian defender Chiellini on the shoulder. He was immediately expelled from the World Cup.

Luis is linked with American club Inter Miami, where he plays forward alongside his Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi.