There are very few countries that know how to develop world-class midfielders quite like Spain. Over the last two decades, La Roja's success has largely been defined by the incredible players they had in the engine room who could control games and implement the pass-and-move style that is so famous in the country.
Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Rodri, Cesc Fabregas. The list of Spanish midfield greats goes on. Another name that falls into that very category is Xabi Alonso. The current Bayer Leverkusen boss was an incredible technician for the likes of Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich. And his career on the sidelines has proven he knows how to identify what players fit a system. Back in 2010, Alonso named one surprising English midfielder he felt could seamlessly fit into the Spain squad.
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Alonso Named Michael Carrick as England Player Good Enough For Spain
The Spaniard explained why Carrick would've been such a good fit in Vicente Del Bosque's team
Speaking with the Times ahead of the 2010 World Cup, which Spain would go on to win, Alonso claimed that ex-Manchester United midfielder, Michael Carrick, was a player that he believed was good enough to factor into the Spain squad if he had been born there. Carrick is one of the most underrated English players in history, and made just 34 appearances for the Three Lions thanks to the monopoly the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard had on the England midfield.
However, Alonso was in no doubt that the former Tottenham Hotspur man could have had an impact if he had a Spanish passport:
"If Carrick plays for the national team the way that he does for Manchester United, then it would be very good news for England. I think that he could easily fit into the Spanish system because I really like the way he plays.
"He reads the game so well, he is always ahead of what is going to happen and he is always in the right position. When he gets the ball, he plays it easy and he is available to his teammates all the time. For me, he has the profile to play for Barcelona or any of the Spanish teams."
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Carrick's Experience in the England Squad
The midfielder described playing for England as 'depressing'
Michael Carrick on England duty
While Carrick may have been appreciated by some of the key players from other national teams, the 43-year-old never got the same level of respect from the Three Lions camp and didn't enjoy linking up with the national team.
"I had been in the squad a long time, I'll be honest I was finding it hard going away with England," Carrick told the BBC in 2018. "I didn't mind going away with United in pre-season for three weeks or whatever and then coming back, but going with England, it was almost depressing in a way – it made me really down.
"I came to the point where I thought I can't do that again and people will be saying, 'Pull yourself together and be grateful for it.' I understood the position I was in, the privileged position I was in, but I just found it so hard and I couldn't deal with it anymore.
"I was depressed at times. I told the FA, 'Look, please don't pick me.'"
During his international career, Carrick had two periods where there were two years between his most recent international caps. The first hiatus came between 2010 and 2012, while the second occurred between 2013 and 2015.
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All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt - accurate as of 20/03/2025.