Manchester United legend, Wayne Rooney has revealed how he would drink until he ‘almost passed out’ to escape his struggles at the peak of his career.
In a new podcast hosted by rugby league legend Rob Burrow and his wife Lindsey, the Birmingham coach admitted he was in a ‘low place for a few years’ after using alcohol as his coping mechanism rather than asking for help.
When asked how he has dealt with tough times in his life, the ex-England and Manchester United captain said: ‘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.’
Asked who his best and worst team-mates were during his career, Rooney said: ‘Best team-mate, I’d probably say Darren Fletcher. My worst team-mate, there are a lot more than you’d probably think! On the pitch, the toughest one was Nani. He was frustrating to play with.’
