Ki considering retiring from national side

NEWCASTLE United’s latest signing Ki Sung-yueng has suggested he could quit international football after being drained by the “considerable responsibility” of being South Korea captain.

The 29-year-old signed a two-year deal with the Magpies last Friday, and officially joined on a free transfer on Sunday once his Swansea City contract expired.

Following his exploits at the World Cup in Russia - where South Korea claimed a famous 2-0 win over Germany, eliminating the current title holders in the process, but still failed to progress beyond the group stage - Ki has been given permission to miss the first few weeks of pre-season training.

Ki is expected to return to his hometown to attend K League 2 side Gwangju FC’s match against Seoul E-Land on Wednesday, given that his father is their general manager and the midfielder himself is a club ambassador.

While he is back in East Asia, seemingly Ki will consider whether he wants to add to the 104 caps he has picked up since first appearing for his country in 2008.

“I can’t confirm whether I will certainly retire as I cannot make the decision on my own,” Ki told AP.

“But I did organise my thoughts to some extent. For the last four years as a captain, I felt responsible for not leading this team well. I saw many coaches come and go and felt considerable responsibility on my shoulders as a captain, so that really tired me out. But I haven’t made up my mind yet. I will announce it when the time comes.”

If Ki does retire from international football then it will benefit Newcastle and Rafa Benitez, given that the Asian Cup takes place in Saudi Arabia in January - meaning the midfielder would miss up to a month of the Premier League season if he is still representing South Korea by then.

Seemingly, however, Ki is determined to put club before country going forward, having prioritised South Korea over Celtic and Swansea City over the past nine years.

“When I started to play in Europe, I cared about the national team whenever I made decisions,” Ki added, while it is reported that he also confirmed to journalists that he expects to have to fight for a starting place at St James’ Park and is relishing the challenge.

“Until now, I’ve sacrificed for my national team, and I considered my national team important, so I had picked a club where I can play many games.

“But now the World Cup is over, and I don’t have to do it that way.”