Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger retires from international duty

Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger has announced his retirement from international football.

The 31-year-old made his debut for the national team in 2004 and has hung up his national-team boots having made 120 appearances, scoring 24 times in the process.

The Manchester United midfielder captained his nation at Euro 2016, but could not prevent the world champions from losing to France in the semi-finals of the competition.

Schweinsteiger, whose future with his club is also believed to be in doubt due to a number of injury problems last season, was part of the Germany team that won the 2014 World Cup and made the final of Euro 2008.

The midfielder's retirement was confirmed via a statement on his official Twitter page on Friday morning.