James Milner has revealed the reason why he chose to reject an England recall from Gareth Southgate in 2016 after having announced his retirement from international football.
The Brighton midfielder, who amassed 61 England caps during his career, decided to step back from international football in 2016 after talks with then-manager Sam Allardyce, who had told him he would be a back-up player in the squad.
His retirement came after the 37-year-old was a part of England's Euro 2016 squad, that were knocked out of the competition in the round of 16 by Iceland, with Milner playing just three minutes at the tournament.