CHELSEA star Cesc Fabregas has appeared to blame Blues boss Antonio Conte for his World Cup snub.
Fabregas was left out of the Spain squad for the tournament in Russia and is instead working as a pundit.
The midfielder has 110 caps for his country and was part of the Euro 2008 and 2012 wins, as well as the 2010 World Cup win in South Africa.
But he was not given a chance under Julen Lopetegui, who was incredibly sacked on Wednesday, and has not made a Spain appearance since 2016.
BBC Sport presenter Gary Lineker joked Fabregas could have been selected if Lopetegui was sacked earlier.
“You never got a look in under Lopetegui,” Lineker said.
“Perhaps if he got sacked a couple of months ago, you might have had a chance?”
Fabregas said that was a possibility but said his lack of first-team football under Antonio Conte at Chelsea was a big factor.
“Maybe, you never know, you never know,” he said in response to Lineker.
“I spoke to him at the beginning of last season.
“When Conte first game to Chelsea I wasn’t playing at all.
“He (Lopetegui) just wanted to try to give opportunities to the younger players who he worked with at the under-21s and under-19s.
“Fair play to him, they’ve done well, they’ve been playing well for two years.
“They qualified in style and they deserved their opportunity as well. I just have to wait and keep working.”