Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - France Press Conference - Al Sadd SC Stadium, Doha, Qatar - December 12, 2022 France's Raphael Varane during the press conference. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo
Doha: Current Manchester United and former French national team centre-back Raphael Varane revealed the reasons behind his retirement from international duty at the age of 29.
Varane highlighted "overloaded schedules" as a key reason for his retirement during an interview with Canal Plus.
"We have overloaded schedules and play non-stop. Right now, I feel like I'm suffocating and that the player is gobbling up the man," the former Les Blues defender said.
On Thursday, Varane took to instagram to share news of his retirement from international duty with his followers.
In the heartfelt farewell, Varane revealed that the decision came after "months of thinking" and that "the time has come for the new generation to pick up the slack."
"Representing our great country for a decade has been one of the greatest honours of my life," he wrote in his farewell letter.
In a tweet, the French Football Federation thanked the player "for everything" after sharing his decision to retire after "10 years, 93 appearances" for Les Blues.
Raphael Varane was part of the French squad that lost the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 final to Argentina on penalty kicks, featuring as a starter before being substituted during the second half of the game's extra time.
