Moses bids Eagles farewell

In what came with mixed feelings for the ardent Super Eagles supporters, Victor Moses took to his instagram page on Wednesday evening to announce his retirement from international football.

The former Wigan Athletic and ex-England U21 star sighted club commitment and family bond as the major reasons for calling it quit with the National team.

Born in Nigeria, Moses represented England youth teams at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels, but opted to play forNigeria as opposed to being fully capped for England. 

Moses was often criticized of placing more priority to his club's duty than National team call ups by conspicuously unavailable in some National team assignments while he would always be available for club's duties, hence it didn't came as a rude shock  to some when he sighted his reason for retirements.

He wrote, ‘I would like to announce that after much
thought I have made the decision to retire from playing
international football.

’I have experienced some of the best moments of my life
wearing the Super Eagles shirt and have memories with
me that will last a lifetime. Nothing will ever compete to
what it felt like to represent Nigeria on behalf of our
country.

‘’However I feel that now is the right time to step away in
order to be able to focus fully on club career and my
young family as well as to allow the next generation of
Super Eagles stars the opportunity to step up and to
flourish. We are blessed as a nation to have so many
exciting young players coming through and now is their
time.

'’There are so many highlights that stand out for me over
the years; from making my debut, to playing in two World
Cups and being a part of the team to win the African
Nations Cup for first time for our nation since 1994 being
just a few of them.

‘’I have already spoken to the manager by telephone and
would like to say thank you to him and his staff, the NFF
and all of my teammates for all of their support over the
years. Most importantly I would like to say thank you to
the Nigerian people for believing in me and supporting me
over the years. It’s meant the world to me and my family
and I will always be a proud Nigerian supporting the team.

‘’Thank you for the memories and good luck to the team
for the future NG.

Moses, 27,  made  37 appearance for the Super Eagles in 6 years with
the Nigerian senior national team. and scored in his last match for the Super Eagles in 2-1 loss against Argentina at the 2018 FIFA world cup 

Meanwhile, mixed reactions has been trailing his retirement announcement as other former Nigerian international has lend their views on the matter.

In his view, a former Nigeria international, Adokiye Amiesimaka called on football authorities to find out reasons for the Chelsea winger, Victor retirement from the Super Eagles.

“There could be more to it than meets the eye. It is worth
finding out. He is still young and can still play for Nigeria.

“At 27, Victor Moses should be at the peak of his career.
Ronaldo and Messi are in their 30s and are still with their
national teams. It means playing for Nigeria was a distraction.”

But in his own reaction Christian Chukwu, former Super Eagles coach
and captain, said that the retirement of the Nigerian born Chelsea player, Victor Moses, from international football was a matter of decision and not age.

“Victor Moses is a very vibrant and young player, so he
 has the right to take decisions for himself.

"He knows his body more than any person, therefore, it is
best known for him why he retired and we wish him well,’’
Chukwu said.

He was an integral part of the 2013 squad that won
the African Cup of Nations, the third for Nigeria,