Mesut Ozil called time on his international career on Sunday, joining a list of stars to hang their boots up before age caught up on them
GettyFrancesco Totti – Italy
Francesco Totti's standing at Roma cannot be understated – now a club director, the former forward holds the record for most appearances, most goals, and remains the youngest club captain in Serie A history.
It was Totti's love for his club, for whom he played for in 25 league seasons, which was cited as his reason for eventually ending his time with the Italy national team as he wished to focus on Roma.
Totti was part of the 2006 World Cup-winning Azzurri side and was capped 58 times by the senior side before his retirement, aged 30.
AdvertisementLionel Messi – Argentina
Lionel Messi revealed that he would retire from Argentina duty following their penalty shoot-out loss to Chile in the Copa America Centenario final in 2016, the fourth time the diminutive star had missed out on glory at the last hurdle with his country.
Messi, 29 at the time of his knee-jerk statement, later returned to the Albiceleste set-up and was part of the squad which was eliminated in the round of 16 at the 2018 Russia World Cup.
PanoramicFranck Ribery – France
Franck Ribery's international career came to an end in 2014, having missed out on France's World Cup squad as a result of a back injury.
The Bayern Munich attacker ended his time with Les Bleus at the age of 31 with 80 senior caps and 16 goals to his name.
GettyEric Cantona – France
Eric Cantona's running battle with France has been well-documented following his retirement from the national team at the age of 28.
The Manchester United forward's infamous kick-out against a Crystal Palace fan in 1995 saw him lose the captaincy at international level and was replaced by Zinedine Zidane as the star of Les Bleus' side under manager Aime Jacquet.