Wayne Bridge's decision means he won't feature in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa

Manchester City defender Wayne Bridge has announced he does not wish to be chosen for England duty, thereby ruling himself out of this summer's World Cup.

(He is also effectively retiring from the international scene)

In a statement released by his lawyers, Bridge, 29, said his position in the national squad had become "untenable and potentially divisive".

He has been at the centre of a media maelstrom since news broke over an alleged affair between John Terry and his former partner, Vanessa Perroncel. Terry was then sacked as England captain by coach Fabio Capello earlier this month.

“I feel for the sake of the team and in order to avoid what will be inevitable distractions, I have decided not to put myself forward for selection. I have today informed the management of this decision. I wish the team all the very best in South Africa."

Bridge's statement has shown the left-back remains troubled with the situation and read: "I have thought long and hard about my position in the England football team in the light of the reporting and events over the last few weeks.

"It has always been an honour to play for England. However, after careful thought I believe my position in the squad is now untenable and potentially divisive.

"Sadly therefore, I feel for the sake of the team and in order to avoid what will be inevitable distractions, I have decided not to put myself forward for selection.

"I have today informed the management of this decision. I wish the team all the very best in South Africa."

Subscribe to Firstain by Email


Related Posts with Thumbnails

Written by Karan Israni

I'm Karan (also known as Karanaldo)- Author, Editor and Designer of this site. Honest and hard working, i love football and a little bit of web designing :)

Follow me on Twitter | Follow me on Buzz

Karan Israni has written 1636 awesome posts on Firstain