Soccer-World Cup winner Llorente retires from Spain duty at 31

World Cup winner Marcos Llorente ​announced his retirement from ​international football on ‌Thursday, ending ​a Spain career that yielded 27 caps. The Atletico Madrid defender, 31, made his ‌senior team debut for Spain in 2020 and was part of the squad that beat Argentina 1-0 to win the World ‌Cup in July, although he remained on the bench ‌in the final.

"I realise that I’m still young and that, perhaps, if I continued to perform well, I’d still have years left to play ⁠in ​this jersey," ⁠Llorente wrote on Instagram. "I know many of you won’t understand this, and I ⁠probably wouldn’t have understood it either if I were looking at ​it from the outside. But it’s a personal decision—one ⁠I’ve thought through very carefully and, above all, one that comes from ⁠the ​heart."

The former Real Madrid player thanked his teammates and reflected on Spain's triumphant World Cup campaign. "I’ll cherish everything ⁠I’ve experienced, but above all, these last 52 days," Llorente said.

"With ⁠a wonderful ⁠group that fought until the very end to put Spain at the top. And that’s exactly ‌what ‌they did."