Barcelona striker, Aubameyang retires from international football

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang has chosen to retire from international football.

The Gabonese captain and Barcelona striker is retiring from the national team, for which he has made 68 appearances and scored 29 goals.

He leaves as the all-time leading goalscorer for his country after participating in four African Cups of Nations (2010, 2012, 2015, and 2017) as well as the 2012 London Olympics. In 2009, he made his debut in a 2-1 defeat of Morocco, scoring the game’s winning goal. His last game for Gabon was against Libya on November 12, 2021, in which he scored the game’s only goal from the penalty spot.

In a letter addressed to the Gabonese Football Federation (Fegafoot), Aubameyang wrote: “After 13 proud years representing my country, I announce that I am ending my international career. I would like to thank the Gabonese people and all those who have supported me in good times and bad.”

In response, Fegafoot praised the “immense career and regularity at the highest level of the one who was able to sell, thanks to his professionalism, the image of Gabon in the world.”

The 32-year-old moved to Barca from Arsenal in the January transfer after the English club agreed to terminate his contract “by mutual consent”, after irreconcilable differences with Spanish Gunners’ manager, Mikel Arteta. The striker has scored 13 goals in the three months since his arrival at the Catalan side.