Michael Carrick Explains Why He Told FA To Stop Selecting Him For England In Honest Interview

Michael Carrick bravely opened up about experiencing depression and how it affected his England career as a result.

Carrick made his debut for England in 2001 against Mexico after impressing for West Ham and played 34 times for his country.

But he played just once at a major tournament for the Three Lions - against Ecuador at the 2006 World Cup - and there is a strong feeling from fans that managers like Sven Goran-Eriksson, Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson did not use him correctly.

Despite his immense qualities as a deep-lying midfielder and someone who could control a game, Carrick never seemed to get going.

But the former Manchester United man actually grew to hate international duty and representing his country.

In 2018, Carrick revealed that he became depressed when going away with England and ended up telling the FA he did not want to be selected anymore.

"I had been in the squad a long time, I'll be honest I was finding it hard going away with England," he told Gabby Logan in a chat with the BBC, via the Daily Mail.

"I didn't mind going away with United in pre-season for three weeks or whatever and then coming back but going with England it was almost depressing in a way - it made me really down.

"I came to the point where I thought I can't do that again and people will be saying pull yourself together and be grateful for it.

"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 anymore.

"I was depressed at times. I told the FA, 'Look please don't pick me.'"

Carrick has been quite open about his mental health battles, explaining in a separate interview that United's Champions League final defeat to Barcelona in 2009 caused him to enter a state of depression.

He was at fault for Samuel Eto's opener and "beat himself up" over the goal, feeling so low that it "lingered for a long time".

Carrick retired at the end of the 2017/18 having developed a irregular heart rhythm and went on to take up a coaching role at United, who he managed on an interim basis earlier this season following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's dismissal.

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Topics: Manchester United, England, Michael Carrick