Michael Carrick bravely spoke about why he asked the FA to stop picking him for England

Michael Carrick remains one of the most underrated midfielders England have ever produced.

For over a decade at Manchester United, the metronomic operator performed to an elite standard on a consistent basis.

Carrick was an unsung hero in some of Sir Alex Ferguson’s best teams and that’s why he has five Premier League titles and a Champions League triumph to his name.

But while the 40-year-old was a trusted lieutenant at club level, it was a totally different story with England.

Despite the fact Carrick was one of the best defensive-minded midfielders available to the country during his illustrious career, he only earned 34 caps.

The former West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur man also made just a single appearance at a major tournament for England and that came at the 2006 World Cup against Ecuador in the last-16.

Carrick was part of the squad for the 2010 edition of the tournament, but never made it off the substitutes bench out in South Africa.

But while the disciplined midfielder didn’t have faith placed in him by the likes of Sven-Goran Eriksson or Fabio Capello, that certainly was not the main reason why his England career never really took off.

Carrick himself admitted in an interview with BBC2’s Premier League Show that his struggles on the international stage stemmed from the fact he suffered with depression and just couldn’t handle it all.

It even got to the point where he begged the FA not to pick him in England squads.

“I had been in the squad a long time, I’ll be honest I was finding it hard going away with England,” he said, per 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