‘Depressed’ Michael Carrick asked not to be picked for England

The Manchester United midfielder will retire at the end of the season.

Michael Carrick has revealed that he ruled himself out of England selection after feeling 'depressed' following his experience at the 2010 World Cup. Carrick won 34 caps for England, the last of which came against Spain in November 2015, but has revealed that being an unused member of Fabio Capello's squad at the World Cup in South Africa was difficult to get over. "I'd been in the squad a long time and I'll be honest, I was finding it hard going away with England," the 36-year-old told the BBC's Premier League Show.

"I didn't mind going away with United pre-season for three weeks or whatever and coming back, but going with England, it was almost depressing in a way. "It made me really down, so I came to the point after South Africa where I thought, 'I can't do that again'. "People would be saying, 'Pull yourself together and be grateful for it' and I understood the position I was in, the privileged position I was in, but I just found it so hard and I couldn't deal with it any more. "I was probably on the verge of... yes, I was depressed at times, yes. I told the FA, 'Look, please don't pick me'."

https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/986986904989130752 Carrick announced earlier this year that he will retire at the end of the season and join Jose Mourinho's coaching staff at Manchester United. The former Tottenham and West Ham man has made 463 appearances for United, winning five Premier League titles and a Champions League during his 12-year stint at Old Trafford. https://twitter.com/utdxtra/status/986690120609869825