Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has revealed he REJECTED the chance of an England cap during his playing career.
The former Manchester United captain is regarded among the best players never to play for the Three Lions.
He told the Daily Mail: "The biggest single disappointment for me was not playing for England.
"At United, when it was international week, I'd be the only one left. Everyone else would be away and I never really came to terms with why."
But then he admits something.
"The closest I got was when Terry Venables rang me," he says. "It was 1994 and there was a Mickey Mouse friendly against Nigeria and I politely said: 'Terry, thanks but no thanks'. I think he was just going to give me a cap. A recognition of what I'd done.
"I knocked it back, aye. I didn't want to just have one cap that was given to me out of sympathy. I was still United captain but I'd been United captain for years and never even got in the squad.
"I was nearly 34 and the game was at Wembley. If it had been a qualifier, of course I would have played. If the country had actually needed me. But it wasn't."
