Former Manchester City star Ian Bishop feels he missed out on an England cap because of rumours that he was gay.

Rumours spread that Bishop was involved in a relationship with former City and West Ham player Trevor Morley.

Bishop, who now lives in America, hit out at the treatment he received at away grounds and revealed his belief that the rumours could have prevented him from representing his country.

"I've never known something so ridiculous in my life," Bishop told the Manchester Evening News.

"It was never my story to tell. I got offered £60,000 from a newspaper to do a story. I should have just made one up but it wasn't my story.

"We'd been on a night out with the wives so the rumours that his wife came home and caught me and him is totally atrocious. For 10 years, I got abused.

"We talk about it and laugh about it. It was just total garbage. What hurt me more than anything was that it affected our friendship.

"Nothing against gay people. People are free to be what they want and there's no issue. It didn't hurt me to be called it, it hurt me because it affected my life.

"In a way, it could have affected my international prospects at the time. I just thought that if that's the way they think, then I'm not bothered anymore.

"If they weren't giving me a chance to prove myself, then sod them.

"That's really how I felt at the time.

"To go to every away ground and really get abused, I mean badly abused, and have to do your job and do it well - there was enough pressure on me to keep my place and that added to it

"I used to blow kisses to them and laugh and smile. At the end of the day I'm a man first and a footballer second."