Luis Suarez confirms retirement from international football

Liverpool and Barcelona icon Luis Suarez confirmed he will play his final match for Uruguay this week in a teary-eyed press conference on Monday

Suarez said he will step down from the international squad after Friday’s World Cup qualifier against Paraguay and will approach the match with the same tenacity as he did in his first game back in 2007.

‘I leave with the peace of mind that I gave everything for the national team until Friday. I have no regrets,’ Suarez said.

‘There is no better pride in oneself than knowing when the right moment to retire is and luckily I am confident that I am retiring from the national team because I want to take a step aside.’

The 37-year-old, who played for Liverpool from 2011 to 2014, said he takes pride in being able to retire on his own terms.

‘I am 37 years old and I know that it is very difficult to get to the next World Cup. It comforts me a lot that I can retire and not for my injuries to retire me, or to stop being called up,’ he said.

‘It is very helpful to want to take that step aside and feel ready. It is difficult because the decision was not easy.

‘But I go with the peace of mind that until the last game I gave my all, and that the flame did not burn out slowly and that is why I made the decision that it should be now.’