New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS): The Netherlands defender Daley Blind has announced his retirement from international football after 108 games for the Oranje placing him fifth in the list of the most appearances for the country. The former Ajax player took to social media to announce his decision and thank everyone involved in his journey for ‘so many beautiful moments.’
“It was an honour to wear the Orange shirt 108 times, for me that is the highest achievement as a player: representing your country. For eleven years I did everything I could to continue to wear that beautiful Orange shirt. It has brought me so much, so many beautiful moments. I cherish that,” read the post by Blind on Instagram.
After four years at Ajax, the defender joined Manchester United where he represented the Red Devils on 141 occasions before rejoining Ajax for a second time that lasted five years, making a total of 333 appearances across his two stints at the club, before joining Bayern Munich for a short six-month period which saw him join Girona in 2023 where he still plays.
Blind was in the Dutch squad that was eliminated by England in the semifinals of the 2024 European Championship, his fourth major international tournament for the team. Blind went on to state that the reason behind his retirement is the new talent generation in Dutch football and that the decision was made after talks with head coach Ronald Koeman.
"A new, talented generation is emerging and after a good conversation with the national coach, it is time to fully focus on my club and my family. Once again, it was a great honour! They were great years, thank you, national coaches, staff, teammates and of course the Orange Legion! I'm going to miss it and you. Thanks to everyone," concluded the former Manchester United defender.
Blind was diagnosed with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, in December 2019 after experiencing lightheadedness during Ajax's Champions League match against Valencia.
An implanted cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), a device that monitors and corrects cardiac rhythm, was placed in him. The incident recurred eight months later during a preseason friendly with Ajax in 2020 but was told he could continue his playing career after medical tests were conducted.