MUNICH — Germany striker Sandro Wagner has announced his international retirement following his failure to be nominated in the preliminary World Cup squad.
Wagner tells Thursday’s edition of the Bild daily, "For me it’s clear that I do not seem to fit in with the coaching team due to my way of always being open, honest and direct."
The 30-year-old Bayern Munich forward was overlooked by Germany coach Joachim Loew in favour of Leipzig’s Timo Werner, Stuttgart’s Mario Gomez and Freiburg’s Nils Petersen, who was a surprise call-up on Tuesday.
"It was a decision for Gomez and Petersen, not against Sandro," Loew had said.
Petersen, with 15 goals, was the Bundesliga’s second-best forward behind Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski this season. Wagner got eight goals in 14 games for Bayern after his winter switch from Hoffenheim.
Wagner has five goals in eight appearances for Germany since making a late debut at 29.
Wagner, who previously said he "assumed" he was going to the World Cup, told Bild, "I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. The World Cup would have been brilliant. I can’t take it seriously but as I’ve often said, there are more important things in life than football."
The forward wished his former teammates all the best for the tournament in Russia and said he hoped "that they come back as world champions."
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