Officially: shock international retirement for Spain star
The player revealed the behind-the-scenes of his decision
Marcos Llorente has walked away from international football with Spain. The Atletico Madrid midfielder's shock decision comes just weeks after he lifted the 2026 World Cup with "La Roja".
The 31-year-old confirmed the news on his social media accounts on Thursday. He insisted the call to end his time with the national team followed lengthy reflection, and had nothing to do with the World Cup result or how much he played in the tournament.
Llorente said: "After a great deal of time thinking about it, I have decided to end my chapter with the national team. I am aware that I am still young, and that perhaps, if I continue to do things properly, there would still be more years ahead of me to keep playing in this shirt."
He added: "I know that many of you will not understand this decision, and perhaps I myself would not have understood it, had I been looking at it from the outside. But it is a personal decision, I thought about it a great deal, and above all, it comes from my feeling. And regardless of whether I was going to go to the World Cup or not, or whether we were going to win or not, I had already taken this decision."
The Atletico Madrid player continued: "I can only be endlessly grateful to all the people I met during these years, who made it possible for me and my family to live unique, unforgettable moments."
Llorente concluded: "I will keep everything I lived through, but above all, these last 52 days, with a wonderful group that fought to the end, in order to put Spain in the highest place. And that is what I did. It was a pride to represent my country, and to be part of this story. Thank you for everything. A hug to everyone."
Early retirement
His international career ran for around six years. He made his Spain debut in November 2020 and won 27 caps without scoring, according to the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
Llorente made Spain's squad for Euro 2020, staged in 2021, and played at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He then signed off in the perfect fashion, lifting the 2026 World Cup.
Three appearances came his way at the last World Cup. One of them was the semi-final against France, which Spain won 2-0.
At Atletico Madrid he has been a fixture since 2019. Before that he launched his professional career with Deportivo Alaves and Real Madrid, then joined the Rojiblancos, winning the La Liga title with them in the 2020-2021 season.
