London, July 20 : Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has said Rio Ferdinand's international career with England is over, and added he doesn't think the defender was left out of the Three Lions squad for the Euro Cup due to any off-field issues.

Boss Roy Hodgson controversially left Ferdinand out of England's Euro squad for `football reasons', but many felt it was because of John Terry's presence in the team, who was going to stand trial after being accused of racially abusing Ferdinand''s brother Anton.

Ferguson said he did not think the off-field issue was the reason for Ferdinand''s omission, and added that it had more to do with his age.

"I don''t know about that. I''m not sure exactly about that. Maybe Roy just didn''t fancy him [Rio]. It''s a possibility," The Mirror quoted Ferguson, as saying.

Asked if he could play for his country again, Ferguson said: "I don''t think so. I can''t see it. I don''t think it''s on his agenda either."

"Rio is 33 now, and, he wants to ensure he''s fit for us. As a centre-back, if you stay fit and look after yourself, you should be playing until you''re 36 or 37. Rio had a terrific season for us last season. He probably played his best football for us for a long time because he was playing quite regularly," he added.

"The last two years he''d been playing for a week, out three weeks, then coming back. Him and Jonny Evans hit a bit of form together that carried from December right through to February and March," he said. (ANI)