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. »