Stoke City goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen has revealed that he quit international football in order to focus on his club career.
Sorensen announced his retirement from the international game on Tuesday, having made 101 appearances for Denmark.
Now, the 36-year-old is keen to focus on his club career, with his first priority to regain his place in the Stoke starting lineup.
"It's never easy to make that sort of decision when something has been such a big part of your life, as playing for my country has been for the last 10 to 12 years," Sorensen told the club's official website.
"But I feel I have another three or four more years left in me yet, and this decision will enable me to focus on my club career. I felt it was the right time to step down. In many respects this is the start of something new for me, and I will be giving my all for Stoke from now on in the hope I can feature in the manager's plans.
"Going away on international duty was always very hard. It was 10 days virtually every month through the season where the training was very intense. Now I will have more time to recover and keep the focus, which can only improve my chances of playing for much longer, which is what I want to do at club level."
Stoke's first league game of the new season comes against newly-promoted Reading on August 18.
Barney Corkhill
