Celtic midfielder Scott Brown announced his retirement from international football earlier today.

The Scottish international revealed that he is struggling to deal with the demands of club football and international football. Therefore, he has decided to focus solely on Celtic.

He said: “I have spoken to Alex McLeish over the weekend. I really wanted to tell Alex first what I was thinking about things. As I said to Alex, I felt that, given the demands which are increasing all the time in football and at this stage of my career, I wasn’t able to give both my club and country my best and I needed to focus purely on Celtic at this time. The football calendar is more and more demanding now, and in terms of looking after my own body and in interests of my family, I felt now is the right time to take this decision. I’ve really enjoyed my time with Scotland and making over 50 caps is something which I’ll always be really proud of. It was a huge honour to pull on the Scotland jersey every time I was given the opportunity and to be able to captain my country is a privilege I will always cherish.”

The Celtic fans will be delighted with Brown’s decision regarding his future. The 32-year-old has been a key player for Rodgers and the former Liverpool boss can now call on a fresher Scott Brown for the league games in future.

Brown decided to retire back in 2016 as well but the decision was reversed eventually and he returned after an appeal from Gordon Strachan.

The Celtic midfielder failed to guide his country to the World Cup in Russia this year and that could have influenced his decision. Brown is unlikely to play in the next World Cup and therefore the decision to hang up his boots for Scotland now is perhaps a wise one.