Rio Ferdinand urges two England stars to RETIRE from international football after 'disrespectful' Southgate snub

RIO FERDINAND has urged Raheem Sterling and James Ward-Prowse to retire from international football after Gareth Southgate's "disrespectful" snub.

The pair were left out of Southgate's England squad for upcoming games against Ukraine and Scotland.

Ward-Prowse has had a stunning start to his debut season at West Ham, with one goal and three assists.

While Sterling has been a standout performer for Chelsea so far this season, scoring twice against Luton.

But the pair were overlooked by the England boss, who also decided to call up Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips despite their lack of game time at Manchester United and Manchester City.

Ferdinand, who won 81 England caps, believes that Sterling and Ward-Prowse should respond to the snub by quitting international duty.

He said on his Vibe with Five podcast: "If I was Sterling, I'd be very disappointed bearing in mind what he's done for this England team when he's been in or around it.

"If you're going by the yard stick that Gareth's using with the likes of Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips.

"Why is it all right for them guys to get in and not him?

"Sterling's probably been the main bright spark at Chelsea.

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"It's just nuts. I'd retire. If I'm someone like Ward-Prowse I'd just retire.

"Say, 'Listen, don't pick me no more. There's no point. It's disrespectful what you're doing'.

"It is to people like him, especially Ward-Prowse who's been putting up numbers for his team on a regular basis.

"What more does a man got to do to get a sniff?"

Sterling's absence especially has come as a major shock given how much he has been trusted by Southgate over the years.

The 28-year-old has 82 caps and was one of the country's top players on their road to the Euro 2020 final.

The winger also began last year's World Cup in Southgate's starting XI.

But Sterling fell out of favour last season and has still not been able to redeem himself despite an upturn in form

The Chelsea star is also not expected to be called up to replace Jack Grealish who was withdrawn from the squad due to injury.

Meanwhile, Ward-Prowse can also consider himself hard done by after hitting the ground running at West Ham.

The midfielder is yet to feature for the Three Lions this year and has not played since November 2022.