Wayne Rooney hit rock bottom while struggling with alcoholism: He was afraid he might die or kill someone

Rooney also disclosed that he felt that as a player he had to hide many of his own problems

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Rooney, Photo: Getty Images
Rooney, Photo: Getty Images
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Wayne Rooney says he was afraid he might die or kill someone when he hit rock bottom during his battle with alcoholism.

The Derby County manager and record goalscorer for both Manchester United and the England national football team spoke to BBC Morning's Sally Nugent ahead of the premiere of a new documentary about his life.

He revealed his darkest periods of alcohol and mental health problems, and when asked what his greatest fear was during those times, he replied: "Probably death."

Speaking about the "mistakes" he made, the XNUMX-year-old added: "It could have been girls, it could have been drunk driving, what I was doing, it could have been killing someone - you can kill yourself - and that is a very bad mental state."

"I knew I needed help, to save myself, but also to save my family."

Rooney also revealed that he felt that as a player he had to hide many of his own problems.

"Ten or fifteen years ago, I couldn't just walk into the dressing room and say, 'I have an alcohol problem, I have a mental health problem.' I couldn't do it."

Documentary "Rooney" was released on Amazon Prime this week and follows Runiusa from childhood to the beginning of his coaching career in Derby.

BBC Sport has singled out seven key themes in the conversation from the documentary.

Fights and alcohol could destroy his career as a teenager

In one scene, Rooney admits that he wasn't exactly "the most exemplary child" as a teenager.

He speaks openly about how often he participated in violence.

"We'd go to Southampton and fight a lot," he says at one point, adding: "I came back with stitches in my eye. I was about 12."

Rooney also describes how he went to concerts as a young teenager and later participated in riots.

“I remember having my jaw dislocated in Manchester. I was about 13 years old."

In one scene, Rooney describes an unpleasant incident while at Everton's academy.

"One day I was crossing the street with a bottle of cider in my hand. My coach Colin Harvey stopped his car to let me pass.

"The next day he pulled me aside and said, 'Listen, you've got the greatest talent I've ever seen in someone your age, don't waste it'."

Rooney firmly decided to become the youngest goalscorer in the Premier League

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At 16, Rooney was already a huge talent in a grown man's body.

In the film, he talks about how he knew even then that he was the best player in training.

He presented himself to the rest of the world on October 19, 2002.

It was five days before Rooney's 17th birthday and Everton were playing London's Arsenal - who at the time were on a 30-game unbeaten run.

Their team included names like Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, David Seaman and Sol Campbell.

Rooney remembers being impressed by how big they all were.

Still, the teenager wanted to leave his mark on the game.

"That was my last game as a sixteen-year-old. I was putting pressure on myself, thinking. "I have to score like a XNUMX-year-old," reveals Rooney.

As soon as he got up from the bench, he says that only one thought was running through his head: "If I get the chance, I'll shoot from any position."

In the final minute, as Campbell began to pull away, Rooney saw his opportunity open.

He ignited the ball and scored an impressive goal that sent the entire Goodison Park into a frenzy.

League leaders Arsenal lost their unbeaten record and commentator Clive Tyldesley advised us all to "remember the name" of Wayne Rooney.

He knew he was the best in the world at the age of 18

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Rooney was England's golden boy at Euro 2004 in Portugal, before a broken foot ended his participation in the Championship - and possibly England's - against the hosts in the quarter-finals.

At only 18 years old, in the opening game, he absolutely terrified the French team that could boast of such names as Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane and Liliane Thiram.

"Their centre-backs were afraid to approach me," he says.

"They saw that I could match them physically."

At one point he brought down Tiram, one of the best defenders of the time, in a clash that could easily have ended in a red card for him.

"I punched him in the jaw, and turned to look at him as if to say, 'Well, now you know who I am.'"

France won the game 2-1, but Henry said England "destroyed" his team and should have won.

He says of Rooney that "it was enough just to look at him and you knew he wanted to succeed."

"I remember thinking, 'I'm the best player in the world,'" Rooney recalled, adding: "And I believe I was at the time."

How did they handle his infidelity?

Both Rooney and his wife, Coleen, have been open about his widely documented infidelities.

"I wasn't feeling well," says Rooney, "and when you throw alcohol into the game, you're bound to make bad decisions and suffer the consequences."

"But that doesn't erase my love for Colleen."

Colleen agrees that alcohol played a negative role at times.

She says at one point that it's not good when Rooney is left "unsupervised".

However, he also explains that the two of them sat down and cleared up all the problems together.

"I know people say, 'They only stayed together to save the family.' That was partly true, but we still love each other.

"Let's hope he's learned his lesson and won't put himself in those horrible situations again."

Speaking to the BBC's Morning Show about the importance of their relationship, Rooney added: "We have a good relationship. At the same time, of course, we are also friends".

"We have a good balance in the relationship - especially now that we are parents to four children."

"There were times when Colleen could have easily left me. But we love each other."

Asked how he's doing with alcohol now, Rooney replied: "I'm fine, I'm really managing to control myself." I have to."

"Like I said, I was never an alcoholic, I used to get drunk more, if I had two days off, I'd literally drink non-stop for those two days, and then I'd put myself in order - eye drops, gum, mouthwash - so I could go to work and then run around the field and train.

"Sometimes I didn't give the club the maximum.

"I talked to people. That helped. I expressed my feelings. I didn't do that before - I was repressing them inside and then they build up."

He wanted to "hurt somebody" against Chelsea in 2006

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In 2006, Jose Mourinho's Chelsea began to seriously question Manchester United's dominance in England.

That year, on 29 April, Chelsea played Manchester United at Stanford Bridge, needing just one point to secure their second consecutive Premier League title.

They won 3:0.

Rooney did not take the loss well.

"I wore new boots, with longer cleats, because I wanted to hurt someone," he admits.

"The crampons were legal, but longer than I usually wear."

A collision with Chelsea defender John Terry has left his rival with a hole in the top of his boot and needing to use crutches.

In the end, whether you believe in karma or not, Rooney's decision to wear longer boots backfired quite dramatically.

He left the game on a stretcher, breaking three metatarsal bones in his foot.

Rooney blames himself and those cleats for that.

"If you watch the video again, you'll see that my front cleats stuck in the ground and my foot bent forward," he explains.

An injury nearly knocked him out of the 2006 World Cup squad.

Rooney did everything in his power to get back in shape in time and managed to get into the lineup.

In the film, he also reveals that, after recovering from a foot injury, he subsequently strained a tendon in his groin during the training of the English national team, which he decided not to report to the physiotherapists.

Rooney believes that playing with that pain diminished his contribution in that championship.

"I was not physically ready for that tournament. I was constantly on painkillers."

is not it bothered him Ronaldoo behavior at the 2006 World Cup. years

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The 2006 World Cup will be mostly remembered by England fans for another defeat to Portugal in the quarter-finals, in which Rooney received a red card for stepping on Ricardo Carvalho.

After the incident, his Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo asked the referee to show him a red card.

When Rooney was excluded from the game, the cameras recorded Ronaldo winking at his teammates from the Portuguese national team.

"I broke a few things in the locker room," Rooney recalled.

"It was the loneliest place I've ever been. I remember thinking, 'If we go through, I'm missing the semi-finals, maybe even the final.

"And if we get relegated, it's my fault."

Rooney says he told Ronaldo after the incident that he had "no problem" with how he had behaved and that they should focus on winning the Premier League, which they did

He believes he was right to stand up to Alex Ferguson

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In October 2010, Rooney shocked the football world when he submitted a request to Manchester United to leave the club.

He also did something unthinkable when he confronted coach Sir Alex Ferguson.

"We sold Carlos Tevez, then we sold Ronaldo. I was the only top-class player left," Rooney recalled.

"I burst into Alex Ferguson's office and said: 'What are you planning?'

"His response was, 'Get out of my office.'"

Former United defenders Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand talk in the documentary about how disappointed they were with the way their team-mate handled things back then.

However, Rooney maintains that he was right to question Ferguson's transfer policy.

"If you look back five years since that meeting, you will see that Alex Ferguson knew where the club was going, he got out as fast as he could, and they are still trying to repair the damage to this day."

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