Why isn't Rooney simply dropped?
Surely he's playing too brick for sponsors to make sure he's in the team now...![]()
Sponsors have never had any influence on who gets picked for England. As an example see Pearce refusing to select Beckham for TeamGB in 2012.
Perhaps worryingly, a lot of the 'golden generation' players were kept in the team because the managers thought they were the best available.