England coach Fabio Capello has cast doubt 令人质疑 over David Beckham's international career, by saying he would not pick the midfielder again to play for England.
The announcement came in a pre-recorded interview on Wednesday night, before England's friendly game 友谊赛 against Hungary at Wembley.
Capello said the 35-year-old player was too old to play for England and the team needed to be built around younger players.
When asked if David Beckham was in his plan for the future Capello said, "No, I need to change it. David is a fantastic player but I think we need new players for the future."
The England coach did say that Beckham could play one more time for England at Wembley so fans could say goodbye.
If he is fit, I hope he will play one more game here at Wembley so fans can say goodbye.
Fabio Capello, England coach
The announcement prompted 促使 David Beckham's agent to release a statement confirming David's desire 渴望,愿望 to still play for England.
It read: "For your information, there has been no discussion of retirement 退役。He will always be available for his country when fit and if needed he will be there."
Reports suggest that Capello had not personally discussed the matter with David Beckham before the broadcast and the England coach has come under fire 遭到谴责 for the way he handled the situation.
Beckham has 115 England caps(代表国家队)出场次数 and has captained England on 58 occasions. That’s an amazing international career by any standard 以任何标准。
David's last appearance for England was as a substitute 替补 in October 2009 in a World Cup qualifier against Belarus. However, Beckham missed out on 错过机会 playing in the World Cup due to an Achilles tendon injury.
Following Capello's statement, many players have come out in support of 站出来声援 Beckham and some do not believe it is the end for him.
He's had some fantastic performances, some fantastic goals, memories. I've learnt a lot from David and it's been a pleasure to play alongside him.
Steven Gerrard, England captain
The current England captain Steven Gerrard said, "I'm sure that if he hears that news, it will drive him on 促使他继续 and he'll try to prove people wrong 证明(那些人)是错的 and try to get back in the set-up 回到国家队中 because I know he loves playing for England.
Talking about David's career, Gerrard said the midfielder would have "legendary status" 传奇性的地位 with England fans.
David Davies, a former chief executive for the Football Association, has also come out in support of the former England captain, saying it is too early to write him off 不再用(贝克汉姆)。
"I've heard about the end of David's international career before and he came back. Who knows, even at 35, he might manage it again."