Germanyââ¬â¢s World Cup winning captain Philipp Lahm has retired from international football.
The Bayern Munich skipper, who guided his nation to World Cup glory less than a week ago, has made the surprise announcement over his future today, according to German newspaper Bild.
Lahm, just 30 years old, could realistically have captained Joachim Lowââ¬â¢s side at the next European Championship in 2016, as well as at the next World Cup.
But Bild reports Lahm made his decision even before this summerââ¬â¢s tournament: ââ¬ËI told Jogi Low on Monday that I will resign. This decision came to me during last season.ââ¬â¢
The right-back has 113 caps for his country, scoring five goals.