Joey Barton has slammed the "rotten" culture of English football, claiming that it is "impossible" for the national side to build a dominant squad.
England crashed out of the European Under-21 Championship earlier this week, exiting the competition at the group stage for the third finals in succession.
Football Association director of elite development Dan Ashworth was forced to defend the Young Lions' selection policy for the tournament, but Barton believes that the problem runs right through the core of the game.
"The culture is rotten from top to bottom," he told BBC Sport. "There is a problem with the Premier League being a lot stronger than the Football Association, which makes it impossible for England to build good teams."
Premier League stars Raheem Sterling, Ross Barkley, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Phil Jones and Jack Wilshere were all available for the Under-21s, but each was overlooked for selection by manager Gareth Southgate.
