Benfica striker Rafa Silva, European Championship champion with Portugal in 2016, announced on Monday his retirement from the Portuguese national team at the age of 29 for personal reasons.
Despite the fact that he has been called up for the next two Nations League games against the Czech Republic and Spain, Rafa Silva informed the coach, Fernando Santos, on Monday of his “unavailability to represent the national team,” according to in a statement published. on Benfica’s official page.
demand respect
“I ask that the reasons, of a personal forum, be respected by all. I have represented the national teams on 40 occasions, I helped win the 2016 European Championship and the Nations League and I am always in the front row supporting in the team of all of us,” he said. Rafael Silva.
The player pointed out that it was an “honest and correct decision at this point in his career” and said that he was “sure” that the team “will continue to bring joy to the Portuguese, of course in the Nations League and in the 2022 World Cup” .
The Federation, thanks
The Directorate of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) said it “respects” the striker’s decision. “Rafa will forever be one of us and he has our recognition and thanks.”
Rafa Silva has 40 appearances at various levels of the Portuguese national team, 25 of them in the senior team, where he made his debut in 2014 in a friendly with Cameroon. He has been a Benfica player since 2016, when he arrived from Braga.
Source: La Verdad
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