BARCELONA’S AUBAMEYANG RETIRES FROM INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL

May 19, 2022

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The Gabon federation announced Wednesday that forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has retired from international football.

The federation says it received a letter from the Barcelona striker and Gabon captain on Tuesday informing them of his decision after 13 years of service with the national team.

Parts of Aubameyang’s letter, in which he thanked Gabonese people, his coaches, teammates, and his father, who also played for Gabon in the 1980s and 1990s, were published by the Gabon federation.

In his letter, Aubameyang stated, “I hope to have made him proud by wearing our colours.”

Aubameyang, 32, has 72 appearances for Gabon and is the country’s all-time leading scorer with 30 goals. Gabon reached the quarterfinals of the 2012 African Cup of Nations with Aubameyang at the helm, equaling their best performance in international competitions.

Aubameyang’s last tournament with Gabon, however, was a bitter disappointment, as he developed COVID-19 at the beginning of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon and had to withdraw from the competition after being diagnosed with heart lesions.

He announced his retirement from international football two weeks before Gabon’s qualifying campaign for the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast next year.