Lassana Diarra quits international football

Former Chelsea, Arsenal and Portsmouth midfielder Lassana Diarra has called time on his international career with France.

The 28-year-old took the decision following his omission from the latest squad to play against Georgia and Spain.

Discussing his reasoning, Diarra revealed his belief that he had not been selected for duty since 2010 because he once publicly spoke out in favour of former coach Raymond Domenech.

"The Blues is finished," Diarra told L'Equipe. "It was great - I met [Patrick] Vieira, [Lilian] Thuram, [Claude] Makelele and [David] Trezeguet.

"I also met Raymond Domenech, who got me started with Les Bleus. I praised him in the media but that did not please his successor who thought I was pro-Domenech. I was just pro-France team."

Diarra made 28 appearances for Les Bleus during a three-year period.