7th January, 2015
Cameroon midfielder Alex Song has announced retirement from international football following exclusion from his country’s Africa Cup of Nations squad. He has not played for the national team since being sent off against Croatia in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
“Since the World Cup in the summer and my subsequent exclusion from the Cameroon squad for the African Cup of Nations I have taken the decision to retire from International football,” the 27-year-old wrote on his Instagram account.
Song joined West Ham United on loan from Barcelona and has since played an important role in Hammers good from in the 2014-15 English Premier League season. He also confirmed that there was talks to include his name in the national squad for the African Cup.
“It is true that there were some discussions of late to include me in the squad for this tournament but I feel after a lot of careful thought and numerous discussions with my family, this is the right decision,” he said.
The former Arsenal player, however, said that his love for Cameroon will never change. “My love for my country will never change but I want to take time to focus purely on domestic football and start to rebuild my career at West Ham United,” he added.
Song, who got a red card for an off-ball punching to Croatia’s Mario Mandzukic in the Brazil World Cup, represented France at Under-16 level before turning up for Cameroon. Africa Cup of Nations starts on January 17 in Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon have been drawn alongside Cote d’Ivoire, Mali and Guinea.