Shearer says England retirement would benefit Rooney and United
Former England captain Alan Shearer has encouraged Wayne Rooney to retire from international football.
The 30-year-old is England’s all-time record goalscorer and set to become the country’s most-capped outfield player after being named in Sam Allardyce’s squad for the World Cup qualifier in Slovakia on Sunday.
Rooney, who has captained his country since the 2014 World Cup, has been listed as a midfielder by Allardyce – where he played during England’s failed Euro 2016 campaign – and is no longer an automatic selection.
He is still a key player for Manchester United and Shearer believes he should call time on England to prolong his career in club football.
“It is time for Rooney to be selfish and start thinking just about himself,” Shearer wrote in his column in The Sun.
“And that, I really regret to say, means his retirement from international football.
“I don’t say this in the belief that he is no longer good enough for England – he is. But he is 30 now and captaining your club and country, satisfying the demand to play at the top level for both, gets harder.
“I retired in 2000 aged 29. Much of that was down to three serious injuries. Some people said I was being selfish. I...