Carrick asked for England exclusion due to depression

April 21 (Reuters) - Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick asked the Football Association (FA) not to select him for England duty after suffering from a bout of depression during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The 36-year-old made his international debut in 2001 and went on to pick up 34 national caps, the last of which was a friendly against Spain in 2015, but admitted that the World Cup had a lasting impact on his mental health.

"I'd been in the squad a long time and I'll be honest, I was finding it hard going away with England. I didn't mind going away with United pre-season... but going with England, it was almost depressing in a way," Carrick told the BBC.

"It made me really down, so I came to the point after South Africa where I thought: 'I can't do that again.' People would be saying: 'Pull yourself together and be grateful for it' and I understood the position I was in... but I just found it so hard and I couldn't deal with it any more.

"I was probably on the verge of... yes, I was depressed at times, yes. I told the FA: 'Look, please don't pick me.'"

Carrick, who has won five Premier League titles, collected a Champions League winners' medal along with numerous other trophies in 12 years at United, and will retire at the end of the season before joining the club's coaching staff.