The Armenian national football team's head coach, Alexander Petrakov, said he tried several times to contact Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but the Inter midfielder rejected his proposals to hold talks.
"Upon arrival in Armenia, I tried to contact Henrikh Mkhitaryan. I asked the Football Federation, everyone to help me personally talk to him. I even tried to reach out to him through my former colleagues at Shakhtar Donetsk, but he turned down the proposals, saying that he had already made up his mind and would not change it," the manager told a news conference in Yerevan.
Petrakov said he also asked his assistant Roman Berezovsky to try to talk to Mkhitaryan, but the former captain reaffirmed his unwillingness to return to the Armenian national team. Mkhitaryan also rejected a meeting with the coach in Milan.
"Mkhitaryan wished the Armenian national team good luck and said he was not going to change his decision. I also tried to contact and meet him through other people. I proposed to travel to Milan to talk to him, but Mkhitaryan did not want to meet in person. I think we have to respect Henrikh Mkhitaryan's decision," Petrakov said.
The coach described Mkhitaryan as a “unique player”. "I don't know him personally, but Shakhtar's players told me that he's a great guy, so we should respect his decision,” he added.