With former Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale having announced his retirement from professional football, here are some more top stars who have decided to no longer represent their national teams following the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
On Monday, Bale confirmed he is bringing down the curtain on his playing career, during which he represented the likes of Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Los Angeles FC, and most notably Real, with whom he won an incredible 19 trophies in eight years.
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The 33-year-old also said his goodbyes to the Wales national team after earning 111 caps for the side. The former Spurs winger was the only scorer for the Dragons at the World Cup in Qatar, finishing his international career as his nation's greatest goalscorer with 41 strikes.
While Bale may have called time on his entire playing career, two of the Welshman's former Los Blancos teammates, Eden Hazard and Karim Benzema, confirmed that they would no longer represent their countries following the showpiece in the Middle East.
The former brought an end to his Belgium journey at the age of just 32, while the latter parted ways with France after missing out on the competition in Qatar due to an injury.
Hazard, who was named captain of the Red Devils in 2015, made 126 appearances in a 14-year spell that also saw Belgium being ranked first in the world by FIFA from 2018 until March 2022, per FourFourTwo.
Benzema's retirement, meanwhile, sparked some controversy as it was reported that his decision came as a result of his exclusion from the Les Bleus World Cup squad following his injury. It emerged that the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner was not recalled to the training camp despite regaining his fitness in time for the latter stages of the tournament.
In the lead-up to the final, various reporters pressed head coach Didier Deschamps over the striker's potential return to the team, but the manager insisted he was not willing to discuss the matter and Benzema eventually played no part in the competition, which is believed to have left him incensed.
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France captain Hugo Lloris also confirmed his retirement from the national team on Monday. The Tottenham Hotspur No. 1 leaves the sticks having become the country's most capped player of all time after a record 145 matches played.
Scroll through the gallery below to see some more players who retired from international football after the World Cup in Qatar!
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