Ilkay Gundogan, who captained Germany at Euro 2024 on home soil, announced his international retirement on social media on Monday.
The veteran midfielder decided to
"After a few weeks of reflection, I have decided that it is time to end my national team career," said Gundogan, who scored 19 goals in 82 appearances for his country. "I am proud to have made 82 international appearances for my country, a number I never dreamed of when I made my senior debut in 2011. My highlight was undoubtedly the great honor of captaining the team at our home European Championships last summer."
Gundogan's retirement follows the international retirements of Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos, who stepped down after Germany's 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Spain at Euro 2024.
The Barcelona midfielder mentioned feeling a certain "tiredness" and noted that "the games at club and national level are not getting any less. I will remain a fan of the national team, and I sincerely hope that we can continue our upward trend together."
Gundogan made his debut for Germany in October 2011 against Belgium. He missed the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 European Championship due to injury. Last October, former coach Hansi Flick, now reunited with Gundogan at Barcelona, appointed him as the national team captain.
"I'm very proud that Ilkay was our captain, he played a fantastic European Championship for Germany. He is an intelligent, reflective and very warm person. Ilkay was an outstanding captain with whom I would have liked to continue working. The door at the national team is never completely closed, but we respect his decision and wish him all the best for his future, both professionally and privately," said current Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.
