Wayne Rooney has revealed his battles with alcohol consumption and the levels he would reach as a teenager in Liverpool.
Rooney became a household name at youth club Everton during an impressive debut season in 2002-03, when he was just 16 years old.
However, the future Manchester United and England icon was already drinking alcohol, having been caught crossing the road two years earlier by an academy coach.
Having previously been reprimanded, the striker would look for discreet places to drink, and even break into empty houses to do so, as he revealed while speaking as a guest at the Stay with the football podcastbrought to you by sky bet.
Speaking to Liverpool team-mate Jamie Carragher, the now 38-year-old said: “You (Jamie Carragher) know where I grew up, it wasn’t an easy place to live, but I loved growing up there, it taught me so many different things.
Wayne Rooney (pictured in 2008) spoke openly about his drinking exploits as a teenager.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Rooney says he used to “go to an empty, abandoned house, smash the windows and drink” while passing through Everton’s academy.
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“I remember when I was 14, I was across the road, I think it was a Thursday or something, and I was playing for the U19s on the Saturday with Everton, Colin Harvey was the manager.
“So I was crossing the road, I had a bag of cider, a packet of cigarettes and a car stopped to let me cross, and it was Colin Harvey.
“We used to go to an abandoned, empty house, we’d knock down the windows and sit there and drink.”
Despite his teenage alcohol consumption, Rooney had a stellar career: winning 12 major honors at United and becoming their all-time leading scorer, repeating the latter for England before Harry Kane beat him 11 years ago. months.
But despite his impressive array of accolades, Rooney admits that alcohol eventually affected his playing days.
He won 12 major awards during his Man United career, including the 2008 Champions League.
Rooney admits drinking took a toll on him during his playing career
“When you look back, I think – and I talked about it when I made the documentary – that I had different problems, I ended up drinking too much and obviously that took its toll on me,” he said.
“You can always look back and think, ‘If you hadn’t done that, you would have played at an even higher level, you would have achieved more, you would have played longer.’ All of these questions, again, are retrospective.”
Rooney spoke on the Stick to Football podcast, presented by sky bet.