Roma goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis has ruled out the possibility of returning to the Italy squad for the next year's World Cup.
De Sanctis announced retirement from international duty in March, and the veteran insisted on his decision among rumours that Italy head coach Cesare Prandelli could call him back to play the World Cup, Xinhua reported.
"I quit the Azzurri in March," he said. "I am a consistent person and I do not like it when my statement are manipulated in a particular way."
"Of course, the rumours about a possible return fill me with pride - but I did not play before because of Buffon," he said.
"It was not easy to leave the national team, but I did it because I wanted to devote more time to my club side - Napoli before, Roma now," he said.