Aymeric Laporte believes France coach Didier Deschamps has "personal reasons" for not yet handing him a Les Bleus debut.
Laporte has become a regular at Premier League champions Manchester City this campaign, forming a strong partnership with John Stones.
But despite impressing Pep Guardiola and even with first-choice centre-back Samuel Umtiti injured, Laporte has been unable to force his way into Deschamps' plans, having not been included in a France squad since making an appearance on the bench for a 2-0 defeat to Spain in March 2017.
And Laporte is adamant Deschamps' decision cannot be based on his form on the pitch.
"There is a coach and he doesn't call me, so I need to wait, to keep working and that's it," Laporte told EiTB, a media outlet from the Basque region in France.
"Of course I don't think it's because of a sporting issue, you'd have to ask him personally, I don't have anything personal against him, but if someone has a problem it's him and not me.
"I could be a world champion... but these are the decisions of the coach, who is not calling me for, I think, personal reasons, and I have to respect him.
"I'm not going to call him. Why? To slam him?
"I'm still working in the club, playing at the highest level for this kind of thing [an international call-up]. The only person who can solve this is the coach."
PEP: Everybody is important but if you talk about minutes played and performance, is important, he is playing at a high level. He is a good player. 30 November 2018
Laporte, who rose to prominence at Athletic Bilbao before moving to City in January 2018, could also be eligible to represent Spain, but the 24-year-old has ruled out the possibility of switching allegiance.
"Play with Spain? I think that's already closed, but even so I opt for France because I'm French," Laporte said.
"I don't have dual citizenship and I'm not going to ask for it. I don't know if playing with Spain is possible."
