Wayne Rooney has not been shy to speak about many aspects of his life, from his issues as a young man having the pressures of being England’s top soccer prospect, to his off the field issues. The former DC United DP and coach and now manager of Birmingham City spoke to rugby league legend Rob Burrows about the pressures of playing for England and Manchester United.
Rooney, who made a big move from Everton to the Red Devils confessed that he had to cope with that pressure by drinking, a lot. So much so that Rooney spent “days at home drinking until he almost passed out”.
Rooney spoke about how his experiences and his coming forward could help someone out in need to seek help or show that many people are not alone in their feelings.
Wayne Rooney on his drinking
Wayne Rooney stated in his talk to Burrows, “I’ve had many different challenges, both on the pitch and off the pitch, and my release was alcohol.
“When I was in my early 20s, I’d spend a couple of days at home and wouldn’t move out of the house and drink almost until I passed out. I didn’t want to be around people because sometimes you feel embarrassed and sometimes you feel like you’ve let people down.
Wayne Rooney managing Derby County (Getty Images)
“Ultimately, I didn’t know how else to deal with it, so I chose alcohol to try and help me get through that. There were people there for me to speak to, but I chose not to do that and tried to deal with it myself.
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“When you do that and don’t take the help and guidance of others, you can really be in a low place, and I was for a few years with that. Thankfully now I am not afraid to go and speak to people over some issues which I may have.”
Rooney in MLS
Wayne Rooney’s time in Major League Soccer can best be summed up as incomplete. As a player DC United began thriving with Rooney when he terminated his contract and returned to England. He’d score 25 goals in 52 games. As a manager he brought DC United back to relevancy after poor campaigns but left to return to England after DCU failed to qualify for the postseason in 2023.
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What Rooney did do was speak out in favor of the MLSPU when the Union was seeking a new collective bargaining agreement when he was a player. Rooney made sure to state on an ESPN interview that wages for young American players were low and that, at the time, having to fly commercial airliners was not the proper way to prepare a soccer club for cross continental matches. Rooney was one of the few big time DPs who spoke up when it came to the MLSPU and a CBA with the league.
