Bayern Munich star Arturo Vidal denied rumours out of Chile on Wednesday his departure from the national team for Saturday's friendly against Paraguay was down to indiscipline and insisted that he was returning to Germany because of personal problems.
"I am leaving due to personal problems but I will be back for the [CONMEBOL] qualifier," Vidal told reporters who were camped out in front of his house in Santiago.
Vidal implored reporters "to not make things up" after an avalanche of reports in Chile media on Wednesday said that Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli had removed Vidal from the team for disciplinary reasons.
The Chilean federation on Tuesday sent a short news release that did not detail the reasons for Vidal's departure, citing only "personal problems."
Chile media reports had initially said that Vidal's son, who has diabetes, was having health issues, however, Chilevision showed images on Tuesday night of Vidal having dinner with friends in Santiago while newspaper El Mercurio published reports that Vidal was seen in the casino.
Vidal made headlines during the Copa America this summer after being dealt a two-year driving ban for driving under the influence and crashing his Ferrari.
Vidal, however, told reporters that he did not return to Germany on Tuesday because he did not make the last flight out in time.