Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has revealed England boss Fabio Capello wanted him to end his international retirement.

Carragher, who has 34 England caps, retired from international duty in the summer of 2007, but Capello made an approach to bring him back into the fold and even went as far as asking Franco Baldini, his assistant, to hold a meeting with the centre back. Carragher politely declined.

"I was supposed to meet Franco Baldini for a chat a year ago and at the last minute I pulled out," Carragher told The Times. "It was more out of courtesy that I was going to do it. Stevie [Gerrard, the Liverpool captain] had mentioned it to me a couple of times, so I agreed to the meeting, but at the last minute I just didn't want to do it.

"I don't think my situation would change if I got back in the squad. John Terry and Rio Ferdinand are first choice and they are two of the best central defenders in the world.

"Maybe I would have won ten more caps over the last couple of years because Rio and John have missed a few games, but you couldn't ask for a better centre-half pairing than those two going into the World Cup."