England boss Fabio Capello won his battle of wills with the FA's moneymen in deciding to leave David Beckham out of his first squad.
The Sun says the FA had hoped to cash in on the player reaching his historic century at Wembley.
He has always said he will be influenced by football matters only - and Beckham has felt the full force.
Capello, 61, got his assistant Franco Baldini to break the news to the ex-captain in a phone call ahead of yesterday's squad announcement.
Later Capello himself rang to explain his decision.
He said: "I advised him he is still part of my plans and, once he is playing regularly in America, we will look closely at him again."
Becks, 32, is out on fitness grounds, while the likes of injury-prone Ledley King and Matthew Upson are included.
A source close to Beckham said: "He's very disappointed to have been left out.
"He has been training at Arsenal in the belief he had a chance of being selected.
"To be told he has been left out because of his fitness is a bit strange.
"But David doesn't believe it is the end of his international career.
"Capello has given him enough encouragement to believe he still has a future with England."
Capello has chosen an initial squad of 30, which will be cut to 23 on Saturday night.
He added: "We will use the time between now and our first World Cup qualifying match in September to look at the players and find the best formula for the team."
