Alex Song quits international football

Cameroon midfielder Alex Song has retired from international football after being left out of their 23-man squad for this month's Africa Cup of Nations finals in Equatorial Guinea.

Song is not in the plans of Cameroon coach Volker Finke, who has ignored the 27-year-old since last year's World Cup in Brazil where he was sent off for elbowing Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic in a 4-0 group stage defeat.

Song got a three-match ban from competitive internationals from Fifa and, despite talk of a late call-up to the national squad, the player, who is on loan at West Ham United from Barcelona, has decided to concentrate on club football.

"Since the World Cup and my subsequent exclusion from the Cameroon squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, I have taken the decision to retire from international football," Song, who has 47 caps, posted on Instagram.

"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. I wish Cameroon all the best."