In his early 20s, Wayne Rooney faced significant challenges and resorted to alcohol as a coping mechanism.
At the age of 16, he made his debut for Everton in 2002, and by 18, he joined Manchester United in a then-record £27 million transfer.
Rooney spent 13 years at Old Trafford before concluding his playing career with stints at Everton, DC United, and Derby.
Despite achieving considerable success, including five titles and a Champions League victory, Rooney has now disclosed his early struggles during his time at Manchester United.
During a conversation with rugby league legend Rob Burrows, the current Birmingham boss shared how he turned to alcohol to manage the stress of playing for United.
Rooney faced off-field challenges at that time as well, and he courageously admitted to using excessive alcohol consumption as a means to numb his pain.
He explained, “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.”
“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.”
“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.”
Manchester United performance and stats
Manchester United is currently 3rd in the Champions League with 3 points.
In the last 3 games, it has won once and lost twice. In its last match, Manchester United won 1-0 against FC Copenhagen.
It has a negative goal difference after scoring 6 goals and conceding 7.
Manchester United will play the next match in Champions League against FC Copenhagen on Wednesday 8th of November in København. The prediction is Manchester United winning the match.