Man Utd defender Ferdinand not ready to call time on England career
Rio Ferdinand will not walk away from international football despite the Manchester United defender again being left out of the England squad by manager Roy Hodgson, the Daily Mail has reported.
Ferdinand has not played for England since June 2011 and was left out of the England squad to travel to Euro 2012, shortly after Hodgson was appointed to replace Fabio Capello. Hodgson insisted that he did not pick Ferdinand for “football reasons”, despite the presence in the squad of Chelsea’s John Terry, who was involved in a legal battle with Anton Ferdinand, Rio’s brother.
A former England captain, Ferdinand has not hidden his desire to return to national team duty, saying in a magazine interview: “It is what it is. I'm not being picked. The manager hasn't picked me. If I got picked I'd pack my bags and go straight there. I'm no different to anyone else - I love playing for England. If I'm not then I'll keep doing what I'm doing for Manchester United.”
Ferdinand made his England debut as a 19-year-old, appearing as a substitute against Cameroon in November 1997, and at the time was the youngest defender to play for the full national team, a record since broken by Micah Richards. Appointed England captain in 2010, Ferdinand has made 91 appearances for his country.
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