In 2004, a highly-rated English forward joined Manchester United and 13 years later, no other name evokes a greater response than Wayne Rooney’s. The Englishman has seen great ups and downs over the years at Manchester United and has been involved in some of their biggest victories.
Despite the fact that his role at the club has waned over the years, there is absolutely no one who holds the kind of influence he does at the club. Rooney’s love for Manchester United is unparalleled, something which was evident from the player’s celebration after Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the winner against Southampton in the final of the EFL Cup.
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The Englishman is one of the most celebrated footballers of the 21st century, however, there are still quite a few facts that have not come to light about the 31-year-old.
Sportskeeda brings to you 10 facts that you probably didn’t know about Rooney.
#1 Massive Harry Potter fan
During a campaign to promote reading habits in children, Rooney revealed that his favourite book was J.K. Rowling’s global best seller Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone. Rooney was one of 20 Premier League stars who had signed up for the campaign where they were supposed to recommend their favourite books to the National Literacy Trust to promote reading.
The Englishman said that the Harry Potter series was his favourite because it got his imagination going. Rowling’s novels, which have also been made into movies, are amongst the most read books in the world.
"Harry Potter is almost every child's favourite book and the same goes for a lot of adults too! JK Rowling is a fantastic author and I would encourage any child to read the Harry Potter books; they are full of excitement and adventure and they really get your imagination going," said Rooney.
#2 Habit of defying authority
Like many of us, Wazza also had his fair share of outbursts and punishments in school. The player was once suspended from school for two days because he vandalised school property by making a hole in the wall of the science lab. This happened because a faculty member confiscated his football to leave a young Rooney seething in anger.
This attitude carried onto his football days and the player has been unable to stay away from controversy. Back when he was a teenager, Rooney once had an altercation with Everton’s assistant manager Alan Irvine.
Alan Irvine said to him, “Speak to me like that again and you’ll be back in the youth team.”
Rooney’s response was, “No I won’t.”
#3 Met wife in school
Coleen and Wayne Rooney got married back in 2008 in Italy. The marriage was a glitzy ceremony and the couple spent over £1 million on the affair. Unlike celebrities who often marry other celebrities, Rooney and Coleen go way back.
The couple first met in the Liverpool suburb of Croxteth when Coleen was 12. However, they officially became a couple only four years later, after they left secondary school. Rooney’s mother, Jeanette occupied a non-teaching staff position in Coleen’s Catholic school and knew her as a teenager.
The couple have three children, Kai, Klay and Kit Rooney, all of whom are boys.
#4 Devout catholic
A little known personal fact about the footballer is that he is a devout Roman Catholic and very serious about his faith. Rooney has often been spotted wearing a rosary around his neck and was even asked about it in the 2010 World Cup.
In an interview, the United forward also revealed that he had gone to a Catholic school where the nuns were quite impressed with the knowledge he had about religion.
In an exclusive with TalkSport, Rooney had also said that he had the habit of praying for his family before every match.
“I pray to God, of course. I believe in God. . . I don’t pray to help me score goals. I pray for the health of me and everyone on the pitch. It is something I have always done. I pray at night. I pray for my family and friends and for the health of everyone I love.”
#5 Tattoos
Like a lot of other professional footballers, Rooney also has a lot of tattoos, however, the story behind them is interesting. Rooney has a tattoo which says “just enough education to perform” which is an obvious reference to his lack of full education. The Englishman did not take his GCSEs, which is an academic qualification that a person gets after taking certain exams in secondary school.
Rooney’s patriotism is also on display in these tattoos as he has another one which says, “English and Proud” along with the flag of St. George. There is also a Celtic cross on his arm which is in reference to his Roman Catholic faith and Irish roots.
Interestingly, back in 2016, the player’s favourite tattoo parlour was attacked by armed robbers.
#6 Sued by David Moyes
Wayne Rooney, who had earlier been an Everton player, described his former manager as a controlling individual in his autobiography titled ‘My Story So Far.’ The book described Moyes as overbearing, controlling and ultimately responsible for the player’s sale in 2004 to Manchester United where he has stayed till date.
Rooney revealed that Moyes had aired some sensitive details regarding his visits to prostitutes to the Liverpool Echo newspaper which led to his departure from Everton.
Moyes did not take these allegations lightly and sued the forward for libel. The Scot said that the book was a personal attack and also filed a court case against the author, Hunter Davis, and the publisher, Harper Collins.
Ultimately, Rooney withdrew the paragraph and formally apologised for the accusation. The case finally came to an end after Rooney agreed to pay Moyes £500,000 as the terms of the settlement.
#7 Winner of Premier League Goal of 20 Seasons
In 2012, to mark the completion of 20 seasons of the Premier League, the association decided to commemorate all great events with the Premier League 20 Seasons Awards. Goals, being one of the most important parts of the game, were bound to have an exclusive category altogether.
The nominees included legends like Di Canio, Le Tissier, Henry, Bergkamp, Shearer, Beckham, Cantona and Rooney. However, the award was finally won by Rooney for his sensational overhead kick against Manchester City in 2011.
"I've never seen anything like it, that's for sure. Absolutely stunning. Unbelievable. The thing about that goal is that Nani's goal will be completely forgotten and it was a fantastic goal. [His] first touch takes it around the defender and he rolled it into the net. It was an unbelievable goal but no-one in their right sense will even talk about it," said Sir Alex.
#8 Foodie
Rooney’s love for food is probably only second to his love for football. The Englishman enjoys eating salads, sausages, baked beans, eggs and chips and loves to guzzle a can of Diet Coke every once in a while.
Wazza also has a fixed pre-match meal which consists of Spaghetti Bolognese along with a piece of chicken fillet. The player’s favourite cuisine is Chinese and Rooney made sure that he got his fair share when the club went to China for their pre-season tour.
All said and done, the Englishman’s favourite food is actually lettuce, something which was revealed by his wife.
“They all think Wayne’s a big fat person and eats burgers every day, which he’s not, and I don’t know where they get it from.”
“It does my head in because people really believe that. His favourite food is lettuce. He loves salad.”
#9 Avid boxer
Rooney has revealed in the past that one of his favourite sports to watch is boxing and it is something that the Englishman often practices as well. In fact, he revealed that quite a few players at Manchester United are boxing fans and they would often gather around their laptops to watch a professional bout.
Rooney’s love for boxing is something that comes from his working class background as the player saw plenty of boxing when he was growing up in the city of Liverpool. Rooney’s uncle ran a gym and there were times that he and his cousins would go and have a friendly bout there. His favourite boxer back in the day was Mike Tyson.
“My uncle ran a gym and there was times me and my cousins would go in and open the gym up and just train, do the pads, bags, sparring, it was great fun.”
“I loved it.’’
#10 Bizarre sleeping habit
People often have trouble falling asleep and take all sorts of prescription drugs to solve that problem. However, Wayne Rooney has a different solution altogether. The football superstar sleeps to the sound of his vacuum cleaner switched on. Rooney apparently suffers from OCD which drives him to carry out this unusual task.
This was revealed in his autobiography where he added that in situations where he cannot get a vacuum cleaner, he turns to his wife’s blow dryers instead.
"I've ruined so many hairdryers by letting them burn out. Coleen hates it. She won't let me turn on a vacuum cleaner or a fan, not when we're together."
