There is no possibility that Joel Matip will return to Cameroon national team selection, according to manager Antonio Conceição.

German-born Matip has made only 27 appearances for Cameroon, with the latest coming in 2015, while he has had a fractious relationship with the country’s FA.

He twice declined call-ups to the Africa Cup of Nations (2010 and 2017), though he did feature at the 2014 World Cup, scoring his country’s only goal of the tournament.

Officially retiring from duty in 2015, Matip later cited his bad experiences with the Cameroon set-up as his reason for withdrawing himself from selection permanently.

„I tried to play and represent my country, do my best and achieve something but all the surrounding things were not the best,“ he told the Times in 2017.

„I always tried it and tried it. I spoke to the old coach a lot and he always tried to change some things. I said, ‚OK, I will try it again.‘

„I tried it again and again and, at one moment, you have to say it is enough. You cannot keep saying, ‚Maybe next time it will get better, it will get better.'“

Since then, Matip has gone on to major success with Liverpool, winning the Champions League and Premier League and establishing himself among Europe’s best centre backs.

The next Africa Cup of Nations is scheduled to take place in Matip’s homeland of Cameroon in 2022 – a potentially tempting experience for the Liverpool star, who missed out on the Indomitable Lions‘ success in 2017.

That tournament, scheduled for January and February next year may also see Liverpool stars Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita taken away from their club for several weeks.

However, there will be no homecoming for Matip, according to Cameroon manager Conceição, who revealed to 90min.fr that he tried to contact the defender without success.

Conceição now admits that Matip’s international future is ‚over‘.

„Any coach would want to have the best players,“ he told 90min, when asked about possible returns for players who have turned down the national team previously. 

„They [Matip and Nicolas N’Koulou] are two very good players who play in the big European leagues. Regarding Joël Matip, I did not have the chance to discuss with him.

„There were serious problems between him and the selection before I took office. There was therefore no possibility of summoning him. 

„I tried several times to reach him, he wouldn’t. For him, the selection is over and I must respect his position.“

Matip, who has made 10 appearances in 2020/21, is currently an injury concern for Liverpool, having been subbed off at half-time of the Reds‘ 3-1 win over Tottenham on Thursday.