Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson were the four players given Ryder Cup wildcards by Bjorn on Wednesday.

"It's the tough part of being captain," said the Dane, 47.

"I called the four that made it and I called six players to let them know it wasn't going to be this time."

Cabrera-Bello, 34, might have expected to be named among Bjorn's four picks, having finished just short of an automatic qualification spot after a strong season.

Bjorn added: "I can only imagine what the other guy on the end of the phone felt like.

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"For Rafa it was hard to understand and tough for him to take it. That was really hard for me. When I picked up the phone I almost felt sick having to do it."

The four wildcard picks join automatic qualifiers Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Alex Noren and Thorbjorn Olesen.

The three-day event starts on 28 September at Le Golf National in Paris.

'It was a risk, but I'm ready'

Garcia is the first European to win Ryder Cup selection having missed the cut at all four majors in the season

Meanwhile, Garcia defended his decision to not compete for automatic qualification by sitting out the Made In Denmark tournament.

The Spaniard, 38, believes he will now arrive rested and ready to take on defending champions the United States, who have not won in Europe since 1993.

"Unfortunately because of how the year went I had to play five weeks in a row in the summer, eight weeks out of 10 - and I'm not 25 any more," Garcia said.

"I knew I was putting my position at risk, but at the same time I told Thomas I want to get to the Ryder Cup at 100%.

"I'm thrilled and now want to help my team again to make sure we have the best possibility of winning the Ryder Cup back."

Garcia is the first European to win Ryder Cup selection having missed the cut at all four majors in the season.

But fellow wildcard pick Poulter backed his selection, saying: "If you look at the highlights of what Sergio has brought to the European Ryder Cup team through the years, that's why he was picked.

"It's hard to explain to the rookies how they are going to feel and how big a stage the Ryder Cup really is.

"You definitely need guys like Sergio in the team who can help these guys to be able to feel comfortable."