Luis Suarez pays emotional tribute to long-time Uruguay strike partner Edinson Cavani as ex-Man Utd man confirms international retirement ahead of Copa America

The 37-year-old announced his retirement from the national team on social media after earning 136 caps for Uruguay. He marked his departure with a post on Instagram, thanking fans for their support over his 14-year international career. Strike partner Suarez dedicated his own message to the Boca Juniors forward, labelling him as someone who will go down in history for his efforts in a Uruguay shirt and wishing him all the best for the future.

Suarez posted a series of pictures of himself and Cavani with the caption: "When we celebrated our first goal together, we were just two kids dreaming of taking our country to the top... Those kids were growing up and experiencing UNIQUE AND UNREPEATABLE things defending OUR BELOVED SELECTION.

"With sadness and joy we always wanted the same goal: for URUGUAY to WIN and the flag to be well represented. Your name will always be etched in the history of our football and our country. As a Uruguayan @cavaniofficial21 I THANK YOU for everything you did for the SELECTION. I wish you the best always. ARRIBA URUGUAY!"

Cavani and Suarez are Uruguay's two most prolific goalscorers. The former scored 58 times and won the Copa America during his international career, beating Paraguay in the final 3-0 back in 2011. The latter has netted 68 times in 138 appearances and was also part of the squad that won the tournament 13 years ago.

Suarez will be departing Inter Miami temporarily this summer as he joins up with the Uruguay squad ahead of the Copa America in the United States. Cavani will not be taking part in the tournament and will continue with Boca Juniors until December when his contract is due to expire.