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Atlético Madrid star Marcos Llorente has on Thursday announced his official retirement from international football with Spain. Defender Llorente was for his part a member of this summer’s La Roja squad which marched all the way to glory at the World Cup in North America. Following a stellar campaign at club level in Madrid, the versatile full-back was called up by Luis de la Fuente to provide cover in various positions in Spain’s ranks. This culminated in a trio of appearances, including two starts, across the duration of the tournament. As alluded to above, though, just weeks on from being crowned a world champion, and despite still being just 31 years of age, Llorente has made the call to step away from international football as a whole. With a total of 27 caps to his name, the former Real Madrid talent on Thursday took to social media, to announce his retirement from Spanish duty: “I’ve decided to bring my time with the Spanish national team to an end, despite the fact that I’m aware that I’m still young. It’s a personal decision, one I’ve thought about very carefully and, above all, one that comes from the heart. “It has been an honour to represent my country.” Conor Laird – GSFN