Iranian midfielder Karim Bagheri has turned his back on international football after officially announcing his resignation from the Iran national team.

Bagheri, who plays for Qatar league side Al Sadd, expressed his intentions to quit the national team during a press interview some time ago but formalized his intentions last week when he faxed his resignation letter to the Iran Football Federation (IRIFF) from Qatar.

The IRIFF have revealed the contents of the fax from the former Armenia Bielefeld and Charlton Athletic player, which was addressed to IRIFF head, Safaei Farahani. In the fax, Bagheri thanked his coaches and team mates on the Iranian national side, and indicated that his decision to quit was to give more playing opportunities to "the younger players who have been waiting their turn these past years."

"I hope the young players will appreciate the value of the shirt they wear and respect it even more than they do now. The reason for my leaving is mainly to give opportunity to the youth to show themselves in the future. I hereby take my leave from the new National Team coach and all the players and pray for their success in future games," added Bagheri.

The IRIFF intend to show their appreciation to Bagheri by organising a testimonial match in his honour that will involve the Iran national team.

Bagheri, who turns 28 this week, was recently chosen as the Asian Football Confederation's Player of the Month for December after helping Al Sadd to win the Arab Cup tournament.