Blues midfielder Massimo Luongo has announced his retirement from international football.

The 31-year-old won 45 full caps with Australia, scoring six international goals and recently made his return to the side after four years away.

He featured for the Socceroos at the World Cups in 2014 and 2018 and the AFC Asian Cups in 2015 - which Australia won - and 2019.

In 2015 he was named the Most Valuable Player at the tournament having scored in the final, and in the same year was named on the long list for the prestigious FIFA Ballon d’Or.

The news comes as something of a surprise given his recent recall and with the AFC Asian Cup starting next month in Qatar.

“It was a hugely frustrating time to be on the sidelines so regularly and to be honest, there were many points in the last few years where I felt my international career had passed me by,” Luongo told the Socceroos official website.

“To eventually have everything come together and get that call from Arnie [head coach Graham Arnold] was a great reward for all that hard work.

“Coming back into camp was an amazing experience and to be able to get back on the pitch against New Zealand was a really nice moment for me and my family.

“My family have been unbelievable throughout my entire career, supporting me every step of the way. They’ve given me the opportunity to live out my dream of representing Australia and for that I’ll always be grateful.

“This hasn’t been a decision I’ve taken lightly, but I’ve got to prioritise managing my body as my career goes on.

“I’ve loved my journey with the national team and will always cherish the moments I’ve had in this jersey. I look forward to watching on now as this group of young players drive the Socceroos culture forward.”

Football Australia CEO, James Johnson added: “On behalf of Football Australia, I’d like to congratulate Massimo on a wonderful career for the Subway Socceroos and wish him the very best for the future.

“The 2015 Asian Cup is something that will live long in the memory of Australian football fans and Massimo played a leading role in what was an historic moment for our game.’

Socceroos head coach Arnold said he understood Luongo’s reasons for hanging up his international boots: “When it comes down to it, Mass needs to do what’s right for him and his family.

“He’s been through the highs and lows of football and throughout his career has shown us his prodigious talent, his incredible professionalism and his qualities as a leader.

“After a tough period of injuries, we were just so pleased to see him fit again and settled into a club where he was enjoying his football and playing well. It was fantastic to have him back in camp working with some of our young midfielders, who I know took a lot out of that experience.

“He’s been an enormous contributor to the Socceroos across the course of his career and we wish him all the best.”

Luongo’s decision is good new for the Blues, who would have missed him for up to five games had he been included in the Australia squad for the AFC Asian Cup.

As it is, it’s still likely that centre-half Cameron Burgess will be in the Socceroos party, while Elkan Baggott will be with Indonesia.

It’s possible skipper Sam Morsy could be named in the Egypt squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, however, that now looks less likely with the midfielder having been omitted from the November internationals.

Photo: Imago Images Sports

MickMillsTash added 09:23 - Dec 20 Good news for us indeed Morsy is walking a suspension tight rope and a centre mid of Taylor + Dom Ball/ Humphries would severely disrupt our pattern of play. is Santa bringing us a back up centre mid this transfer window?
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Linkboy13 added 09:24 - Dec 20 Good news for Town . When he has come back from international duty he's looked tired and McKenna has rested him on a couple of occasions. Perhaps Morsy will do the same it would be a big boost for our promotion chances.
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ITFCson added 09:26 - Dec 20 Must of been a tough decision for Massimo, maybe it came into his thinking that he won't have many more cracks to getting into the Premier league. He wants to ensure he is here for the whole season and help us achieve his personal and team goal of reaching the promise land of which we stand a better chance if he is here rather than missing for up to 6 weeks at the Asia Cup

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Len_Brennan added 09:28 - Dec 20 Played well on his recent return to international football & got a good reaction from the fans, so this is a blow to Australia just before a tournament, but from a selfish point of view, I have to say this is very good news for Ipswich. His patrtnership with Morsy has had a massive influence over our success in 2023, while his experience & quality are there to see every time he ste0s on the pitch.

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Europablue added 09:49 - Dec 20 Even though Mass has been outstanding for us, competition is so great that you can easily lose your place in the team if you are away or injured for an extended amount of time. If Taylor made the position his own it would be difficult to justify playing Mass and he might be looking for another club if he wanted to end his career playing regularly. Playing for Australia is a problem for players based in the UK. It might be fine for a few years, but all that travelling and not having enough rest will catch up on you as you get older.

3

Radlett_blue added 10:20 - Dec 20 A great decision for Town & a great example of why "fringe" players find the constant merry-go-round of international football, with all the travel, very tedious when you're of a certain age & very unlikely to be spending much time on the pitch.
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bluelad7 added 10:38 - Dec 20 Hopefully that earns him an extended contract. He certainly deserves it.
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d77sgw added 10:39 - Dec 20 Mass, we could really do with you in Jan. Here's £50k - would you mind retiring from international footie? :)
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Lion added 11:35 - Dec 20 mass -i- MOOOOHHHHH, aha....
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ImAbeliever added 11:39 - Dec 20 Respect!
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ImAbeliever added 11:40 - Dec 20 A truly fabulous player to watch.
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Flamencaman added 11:56 - Dec 20 It’s a shame it’s happened for Mass, personally I’m delighted for selfish reasons, Mass has been sensational in his time here, we certainly wouldn’t have got Automatic promotion without him, and he’s just carried on, what a terrific pairing they are our very own MandMs, rarely put a foot wrong,Thanks Mass a highly talented tough footballer what class signing
4

Ipswichbusiness added 12:07 - Dec 20 I think that Europablue has called this right. In June Massimo Luongo signed a one year contract. If he went away on international duty for an extended period and someone else came in and made the place their own, would we be interested in extending his contract? If yes, would it be on the same terms or inferior ones? The way I see it he is looking after his own interests (nothing wrong with that).

2

MerseaBlue added 12:19 - Dec 20 Surely he has only retired as he couldn't wear a kit that's so close to the scums?
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Fat_Boy_Tim added 12:44 - Dec 20 Great for the club as a whole. Can’t help but feel for Taylor, who’s chance for an extended run in the team was always going to be January and has taken a bit of a hit.
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thepommylump added 12:44 - Dec 20 I reckon Jack Taylor is cursing him!
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Marcus added 13:49 - Dec 20 We know Morsy is trying to get the timing of his next suspension to when he would be rotated if he wasn't captain. Being out the same time as Mas would leave us very vulnerable in the middle, so great he's focussing on club football now. A loss for Australia, but it's a lot of travelling and that has consequences as well.
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hyperbrit added 14:21 - Dec 20 this is the first sign for us first of players putting their club before their country...hopefully there will be more. International duty is becoming almost as big a pain as the "Pizza Cup" was
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Linkboy13 added 15:07 - Dec 20 Dispite being a very good player it's going to be difficult for Taylor to dislodge either Luongo and Morsy as he is essentially a number ten and lacks the defensive qualities to do himself justice in that position.
1

Michael101 added 18:24 - Dec 20 Me think's he's had enough of playing in green&yellow , can't blame him
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midastouch added 19:48 - Dec 20 What a fantastic player Luongo is. Whenever Ipswich play at home, I usually leave just after 12 and get home about 7 hours later. Watching players like Luongo and Morsy makes it worth all the effort and time. I could never have put myself through that week in and out during most of the previous ownership, but now it feels like a real pleasure rather than a duty or chore.

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Tractor_Boy_in_HK added 09:13 - Dec 21 It's a good decision. Mass struggles with injuries, and he's also playing for a new contract. That could have been derailed with an injury on international duty followed by a long spell on the bench.
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ChorleyBoy added 09:26 - Dec 21 Tough call for him to make but a good one because he looks terrible in those colours.
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