The 32-year-old Samuel Eto’o had an altercation with coach Volker Finke that has led him to retire from the Cameroon national team for ‘family reasons’, even though he has helped his country reach the last round of qualification for the World Cup in Brazil next year.

The Chelsea striker, who had previously threatened to retire from international football last September, told his teammates in the dressing room about his decision to quit Cameroon football before helping them to a 1-0 victory over Libya, according to Metro.

There was tension running high throughout the camp last week as Eto’o started meddling in team selection affairs with Finke, who did not back down. The prolific forward wanted goalkeeper Carlos Kameni and striker Achille Webo to start against Libya, which Finke blatantly denied.

Unless he reverses his decision, Eto’o has played his final match for his country. The striker has appeared 114 times for his country in all, scoring 56 goals in the process. He has also appeared in three World Cup finals in 1998, 2002 and 2010.

Even though you want your best players to play for their country, Chelsea fans must be secretly happy that Eto’o has retired from international football, with the striker not getting any younger. There have been instances when footballers get injured during international duty and miss a lot of matches for their clubs, just ask Robin van Persie during his time at Arsenal.

Chelsea have just three strikers on their books, having failed to acquire Wayne Rooney from Manchester United and sending Romelu Lukaku on a season-long loan deal to Everton. And with Demba Ba out of favour with Mourinho, Eto’o is set to play a prominent role in the Blues squad.

Due to his retirement, the 32-year-old will have extra time to prepare for matches and the threat of injury during international duty is ended which has to be a big plus for the Blues.