Leighton Baines poses for a portrait after a press conference at the England pre-World Cup Training Camp at the Vale Do Lobo Resort
Leighton Baines supposedly refused to go to World Cup 2010 with England(Image: Getty)
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Stephen Warnock and Joleon Lescott claim former team-mate Leighton Baines refused to represent England at World Cup 2010. The Everton hero, who retired in 2020, earned 30 caps for his country.
England are gearing up for this year's World Cup in North America, but 16 years ago, the Three Lions endured a tournament that was unforgettable for all the wrong reasons. Fabio Capello's side struggled in the group stage in South Africa before being ousted by Germany in the round of 16 under dubious circumstances.
Former Liverpool defender Warnock was part of the squad as a backup to Ashley Cole, but has admitted he did not think he'd be selected by Capello. The 44-year-old claims that Baines was all set to go but declined as he did not want to be away from his family.
Lescott, who played alongside Baines for Everton and England, concurred, despite the left-back denying it profusely and saying he was simply not picked by Capello, much to his dismay.
Speaking on In The Mixer, brought to you by Sky Bet, Warnock said: "I absolutely loved it and a lot of people talk about South Africa and how it was so remote and out of the way. I had a Carlsberg ticket. I was sat in the front row of every game.
"I was sat in the changing room listening to the best players try and work out how to beat a team, watching the players train at the highest level. Who wouldn't want to be there? It was unbelievable.
"The thing was, I didn't think I was going to go. We had two warm-up games. One of them we played Japan. I didn't play in either. Ash [Cole] played in one and Bainsey played in the other.
"I thought, 'I'm not going. That's me done.' Then I got a phone call when he got back…" Lescott interjected, guessing: "Bainsey didn't want to go, did he? He said, 'Nah, that ain't for me.'" Warnock confirmed: "He didn't want to be away from home."
Lescott added: "Bainsey wasn't on that. He didn't like it. He was close to going to Bayern Munich. Like really close. They really wanted him. Desperately wanted Leighton Baines."
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Leighton Baines and Joleon Lescott look on as the England team arrive at a train station as the squad travel to London for the England press conference at Sopwell House
Lescott says Baines did not want to move(Image: Getty)
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Warnock said: "There was a point before I went to Villa, I was at Blackburn and Bainsey was going to go to Villa and I was going to go to Everton from Blackburn. But Bainesy was just like, 'I don't really fancy it.' He didn't want to move. I mean, a lot of Scousers are like that."
Lescott then revealed Baines was almost part of a historic swap deal: "That's a Scouser thing really. We played Spurs and Harry Redknapp wanted to swap Gareth Bale for Baines.
"Because his record was so bad at the start, but David Moyes said no. It was happening, but Bainsey was also on that too, he was on the Spurs one, [he didn't want to go to] London."