Wayne Rooney announced that he was stepping down from international football on Wednesday.
The Everton player claimed that Garath Southgate had told him that he wanted him to return to the England squad but decided it was time to step down.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Sky Sports panelist and former Liverpool and England defended Jamie Carragher insisted that Wayne Rooney “should” go down as an England legend.
He said: “I understand why he sometimes gets criticism. He was a name along with Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and David Beckham, when we never got to level we should have as a squad.
“But it goes more on Wayne because he’s a big name player. When you go as a squad to a tournament, one man can’t determine how the rest of the squad performs, as a squad we haven’t performed.
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“He’s one of the few England players who you can actually say has had a great tournament. You can probably name five or six and Wayne Rooney is part of that gang in 2004.
“But if you’re your country’s leading goal scorer and your record is one goal every two international games, I think you’ve got to be saying he’s right up there with the England legends, no doubt.”
Carragher argued that Rooney had made a good decision after walking away from international football to concentrate on his time at Everton.
He added: “I think it is a great decision. I think it has been a great start for Wayne at Everton.
“That’ll be the best thing for him to continue that and the way to continue that is to have breaks throughout the season on international breaks.”
Rooney is England’s recorder goalscorer with 53 goals in 119 games and was expected to be recalled to the England squad after a strong start to this season back at the Toffees.
The 31-year-old striker made his England debut in 2003 and broke the scoring record, previously set by Sir Bobby Charlton, in September 2015 by scoring his 50th England goal against Switzerland.
He said: “It was great Gareth Southgate called me this week to tell me he wanted me back in the England squad for the upcoming matches. I really appreciated that.
“However, having already thought long and hard, I told Gareth that I had now decided to retire for good from international football.
“It is a really tough decision and one I have discussed with my family, my manager at Everton and those closest to me.
“Playing for England has always been special to me. Every time I was selected as a player or captain was a real privilege and I thank everyone who helped me.”