World Cup star immediately announces 'retirement' and will not return until current manager is sacked

A World Cup star swiftly announced he will not play for his country again under the current manager in a bombshell social media post.

Senegal qualified for the round of 32 as the final third place team and were paired with Belgium in the first knockout stage.

Pape Thiaw's side were 2-0 up and flying at Lumen Field in Seattle thanks to goals from Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr.

But Belgium turned it around late on, with Romelu Lukaku pulling one back in the 86th minute and Youri Tielemans heading home the all-important equaliser just before stoppage time.

Tielemans then popped up the winner in stoppage time of extra time, coolly converting a spot-kick after a VAR review ruled he had been fouled while attempting to meet a cross to the near-post.

Belgium set up a round of 16 meeting with co-hosts USA, with Senegal sent home.

And immediately after elimination, the Lions of Teranga have been rocked by one of their players calling time on his international career.

Following the loss, Villarreal midfielder Pape Gueye put out a shock statement where he confirmed that he would not play for the national team while Thiaw and his staff were in charge.

On his Instagram story, Gueye wrote: “I will address the details about the actual elimination of the tournament a bit later, but for now I wanted to state that I will not play for Senegal with the current staff”.

Born in France, Gueye made his Senegal debut in 2021 and has been capped 45 times by his country.

He was part of the side which won the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 2021 and received a prestigious honour when he was appointed a 'Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion' by the country's president Macky Sall.

Senegal boss signed new contract amid row in build-up to World Cup

Earlier this year Gueye scored what he thought was the winning goal to secure Senegal's second AFCON win against Morocco when he popped up in extra time of the final.

However, two months later and Morocco were awarded a 3-0 victory and crowned champions because Senegal walked off the pitch in protest over a penalty decision.

Manager Thiaw had ordered his players to leave the field and they returned following a delay of around 17 minutes.

Senegal are currently appealing the verdict issued by the Confederation of African Football (Caf).

Gueye scored twice in Senegal's 5-0 win over Iraq to secure passage to the knockout stages but clearly has frustrations with the running of the national team.

Thiaw has been in charge since December 2024 and according to the BBC, his contract paid around £210,000 per year.

He travelled to the US amid a row over an improved deal which saw intervention from Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye,.

Eventually, Thiaw penned a new contract worth £480,000 per year, as well as an £80,000 annual bonus.

Senegal's preparations for the tournament were less than ideal as players and staff were not happy over unpaid bonuses which were finally received after the government signed off the fees.

Thiaw called the defeat "cruel" having led 2-0 but acknowledged that the team struggled to deal with Belgium as they fought back.

"I believe we played well," he stated.

"It's always easier to speak after a victory. We have to analyse what happened, identify where we can improve and learn from what didn't work so we're better prepared for the next competition."

Senegal are currently 18th in the world rankings.