5 players who came out of international retirement 

International football can be a fickle beast. Players are driven by the emotion that is generated by playing for their countries, yet this is often countered by the practicality of fitting in numerous extra games into what is already often a packed schedule.

As such, many who are winding down their careers choose to turn their back on their national teams for the good of their careers at club level. Often, they feel, it can mean adding another season or two onto their longevity.

But while there are many who do hang up their boots for their countries, returning to action at critical moments is not so uncommon.

Perhaps a player sees their team in trouble in a qualifying campaign or believes he can help them go further in a major final, and sometimes the reasons for returning are purely emotional.

Here are 5 examples of big-name players who stepped away only to be drawn back – some more than once:

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#5 Gianluigi Buffon

That Italy will not be at World Cup 2018 is a great shame for the competition, as the Azzurri bring a sense of history and grandeur to the competition.

Although they ultimately did not prove up to scratch under Gian Piero Ventura, crashing out at the playoff stage to Sweden, that was certainly not the fault of legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who may well be the greatest exponent of his position in history.

In the aftermath of that 1-0 two-legged loss to the Swedes, the 40-year-old goalkeeper announced that it was the end of his international career.

However, he has returned to the national squad after being called by interim coach Luigi Di Biagio.

The tragic passing of Davide Astori has inspired him to join up with the team on at least this occasion.

“He’s a reason why I’m here. I wanted to be present and respond to this feeling,” he told the media.

“I’m here because I’ve always been a person who has followed through with what they have said, with a sense of responsibility.

“These two things are enough, and what’s more, Di Biagio was very nice to me. The young guys have already grown up and will have the space they need.”

With Buffon still mulling over retirement from the game entirely at the end of the season, these forthcoming fixtures against Argentina and England may provide only a brief reprise for the 2006 World Cup winner, yet they would allow him to depart on his own terms, and not in the sad circumstances that haunted the squad last autumn.

#4 Zinedine Zidane

Zidane returned as captain

The comeback of Zidane is perhaps the most famous in international footballing history. With France struggling to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, Raymond Domenech pleaded for the Real Madrid star to return to action. When he agreed, he was immediately made the captain of the side and set about producing a tournament of remarkable quality.

Under the prompting of Zidane, France cut their way to the final of the competition. His performance against Spain in the second round befitted that of a player who is considered perhaps the finest of his generation, while he reprised such a level against Brazil in the quarter-finals, setting up Thierry Henry for the game’s only game.

It was in the final that the strange dichotomy of Zidane was shown, first his simple brilliance as he showed an inhumanely cool head to chip a penalty past Gianluigi Buffon to give Les Bleus the lead, then his mercurial nature when he was infamously sent off for headbutting Marco Materazzi.

“If you look at the 14 red cards I had in my career, 12 of them were a result of provocation. This isn't justification, this isn’t an excuse, but my passion, temper and blood made me react,” he told Esquire several years later.

France ultimately lost an unforgettable final on penalties as David Trezeguet struck the underside of the bar, while Zidane was named the Golden Ball winner as the tournament’s outstanding player, despite his competition – and his career – ending in such undignified circumstances.

#3 Roger Milla

Roger Milla of Cameroon

One of the great World Cup stories remains Cameroon’s emergence at Italia 90. They became the first African side to make it to the quarter-finals of the competition, where they were eliminated by England.

Although they were at times crude in their approach – two players were sent off in the opening match as they shocked world champions Argentina 1-0 – they are better remembered for the exuberance they brought to the competition, with veteran attacker Roger Milla personifying this.

The 38-year-old scored four times and is remembered for his samba dance with the corner flag after netting, yet the revelation of the competition was not supposed to even be there – having quit the national scene a couple of years previously.

Indeed, it took a call from president Paul Biya to talk him into extending his service with the team.

He became a worldwide sensation and even continued for another four years to play at World Cup 94 in the United States, in which he became the oldest ever scorer at a final when he registered a goal against Russia in a 6-1 defeat.

Nevertheless, the international return of Milla is one that the footballing world is grateful for, as it provided one of the most heart-warming stories of the modern era.

#2 Henrik Larsson

Larsson came out of retirement not once, but twice!

Swedish international and forward Henrik Larsson is perhaps one of the most underrated players in world football since the millennium, having spent much of his career playing with Celtic in Scotland.

However, he showed during a two-season stint with Barcelona towards the end of his career than he was far more than a flat-track bully, turning the direction of the 2005-06 UEFA Champions League final in the favour of the Catalans as they were struggling to break down 10-man Arsenal.

Unsurprisingly, he was a vital player on the international scene and when he chose to require after the Swedes were knocked out of World Cup 2002 by Nigeria by a golden goal in the last 16, it was a decision that was greeted with disappointment.

It took some doing, but he was ultimately talked out of his retirement to pair up with Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Sweden at Euro 2004, where he scored three times but suffered further heartbreak as his side were beaten on penalties by the Netherlands.

He continued to play an important role for his nation and led them to the 2006 World Cup, where he netted a vital last-minute equaliser against England, securing a place for his side in the knockout stages, where they were beaten by Germany.

Again Larsson retired, only to be talked out his decision in time for Euro 2008 and ended up amassing 106 caps before definitively calling it quits in the autumn of 2009.

#1 Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi retired from international football after Argentina lost to Chile in the Copa Centenario final

It is now amazing to think it, but Lionel Messi could quite easily not have travelled to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. And not because of Argentina’s mediocre qualifying record that saw them limp in at the last minute thanks to a hat-trick from their talisman, but because he himself had retired from the international game.

Fed up with frustration and drunk with disappointment following defeat to Chile in the Copa Centenario final, in which he missed a penalty in the shootout, he called time on his international career.

“I tried my hardest,” he lamented after suffering more heartbreak. “It has been four finals, I want more than anyone to win a title with the national team, but unfortunately, it did not happen... I think this is best for everyone, firstly for me and for a lot of people that wish this. The team has ended for me, a decision made.”

Following the stunning news of the announcement, a campaign was quickly whipped up in his homeland to get him to reverse his decision. It was led by President Mauricio Macri, who described the player as “the greatest thing we have in Argentina”.

It did not take long for the fruits of this campaign to bear fruit. On August 12, 2016, less than two months after announcing his retirement, there was a sensational U-turn as Messi changed his mind prior to the autumn’s World Cup qualifiers.

“A lot of things went through my mind on the night of the final and I gave serious thought to quitting, but my love for my country and this shirt is too great,” he said.

He did not miss a game due to his short-lived ‘retirement’ and will go to Russia 2018 as one of the tournament’s major players to keep an eye on.