Dutch international Dirk Kuyt ended his international career Friday to fully focus on his Turkish club Fenerbahce.
"I am a player who always wants to give 100 percent but looking at my limited prospect of playing time I am no longer able and willing to do that," the 34-year-old said, reports Xinhua.
Just after the Brazil World Cup Kuyt had decided to continue as an international but he changed his mind.
"It would have been too easy to quit immediately after a successful World Cup. I felt so fit," he said.
The forward took the decision after extensive consultation with national coach Guus Hiddink, who succeeded Louis van Gaal after the World Cup. "We had very respectful conversations. From now on, I focus completely on my club," Kuyt added.
Kuyt made his debut for the Dutch team 10-years-ago and in the following period he was one of the regular names with the likes of Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Nigel de Jong. During his international career he played at several positions from centre forward to midfielder to even left back.
Kuyt played in the 2006 World Cup and was present at all following major tournaments. He finished as runners-up at the 2010 World Cup and during his last tournament in Brazil, 'Oranje' ended third.
On the list of most capped Dutch internationals, Kuyt is No.6 behind Edwin van der Sar (130), Frank de Boer (112), Rafael van der Vaart (109), Wesley Sneijder (107) and Giovanni van Bronckhorst (106). His 104th and final game was the friendly against Italy Sep 4 (0-2 loss).
Kuyt announced his international retirement on the day Hiddink will name his squad for the Euro 2016 qualifiers against Kazakhstan (Oct 10) and Iceland (Oct 13).
Although he will not be available for the squad anymore, he did say that if Hiddink and the team really need him he will not refuse.
