Surprise: World Champion Announces Retirement from Spain National Team

Spain's World Cup winner Marcos Llorente has surprisingly announced his retirement from the national team at just 31 years old. He made the announcement via an Instagram post.

“After much deliberation, I've decided to conclude my chapter with the national team. I realize I'm still young and that, perhaps, if I continue to perform well, I might have more years left playing in this jersey. I know many won't understand this, and frankly, I wouldn't have understood it from the outside either. However, this is a personal, deeply considered, and, most importantly, profoundly felt choice. Regardless of whether I would have gone to the World Cup or not, or whether we would have won it or not, I had already made this decision.

I can only be endlessly grateful to everyone I've met over the years who made it possible for my family and me to experience unique and unforgettable moments. I will remember everything we went through, but especially these last 52 days. With a wonderful team that fought to the very end to bring Spain to the top. And that's what happened. It was an honor to represent my country and be a part of this history. Thank you for everything. A hug to all,” Llorente wrote alongside photos of himself with the World Cup trophy and the Spanish kit.

For the past seven years, the right-back has played at club level for Atlético Madrid, despite being a product of city rivals Real Madrid's youth academy. He made his national team debut in a friendly against the Netherlands (1-1) in November 2020, and since then has accumulated 27 caps for his country, contributing four assists. Llorente was not part of Luis de la Fuente's squad for their Euro 2024 triumph, but he did feature in three matches at the 2026 World Cup. He played the full 90 minutes against Cape Verde (0-0) and Uruguay (1-0), and also came on as a substitute in the semi-final against France (2-0).