Germany captain Ilkay Gundogan announced his retirement from international football on Monday citing “a certain tiredness” both physically and mentally.
“After a few weeks of consideration, I have come to the conclusion that it is time to end my national team career,” he wrote.
“I look back with great pride on 82 international matches for my home country — a number I could never have dreamed of when I made my debut for the senior national team in 2011.
My highlight was definitely the huge honour of being able to lead the team as captain at our home European Championship last summer! After all these years, we finally managed to make the nation proud again — I’m very happy that I was able to play a part in that.
But even before the tournament, I felt a certain tiredness in my body and also in my head, which made me think. And the number of games at club and national level is not coming down.
I will definitely continue to be a fan of this national team and I really hope that we can continue the upward trend together — and then there is nothing to stop us from being one of the prime contenders for the title at the 2026 World Cup. We have a fantastic coach, a really strong squad and a great team spirit.”
Following his retirement announcement, Julian Nagelsmann and Rudi Völler released their statements about their team captain (captured by @iMiaSanMia):
Nagelsmann: “I’m very proud that İlkay was our captain, he played a fantastic Euros for German football. His intelligence has always fascinated and inspired me, as has his confidence on the ball and his clever passes. We expect our players to play passes with a purpose, and İlkay did just that. He often shone himself, and even more often he let others in the national team shine. We will miss his fine foot, his good ideas. For me and for us, he was an important contact person, the exchange with him was enriching, even on topics outside of football. 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 to 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.”
Völler: “İlkay is a great footballer. He impressed the whole of Germany at the Euros with his unique abilities on the ball and made the team shine with his great intelligence and his exceptional running and passing. He enjoyed great respect from his teammates, and not only for this reason, many could look up to him and take his professionalism and attitude as an example. With his team spirit and his love of the game, İlkay was an exemplary captain on and off the pitch, always an important contact for Julian and me. And as such, we will miss him.”
The 33-year-old played 82 times for the German national team, scoring 19. Gundogan made his debut in 2011 against Belgium in a qualifier for EURO 2012.
