Coleen Rooney wants Wayne to stop playing away. Football, that is…
Coleen tells Wayne enough is enough
Coleen Rooney has been on a lot of great holidays, from partying on private yachts to splashing around with her kids in the Rooneys’ favourite destination, Barbados. But we’d argue the mum of four has never looked happier during her summer of fun than in the UK. Last week, the 33 year old was seen having the time of her life with six-year-old son Klay at Legoland in Windsor. Coleen and her other sons – Kai, nine, Kit, two, and 17-month-old Cass – have been spending the summer holidays in the UK and, according to our insider, it might be a more permanent move soon. “Coleen’s time back in England has made her
feel happier than ever. She’s loved catching up with her mates and her parents. But it’s been bittersweet, too, because it’s made her realise just how miserable she’s been in the US. Her friends all told her that life’s too short to be living somewhere you don’t enjoy, and she’s now told Wayne that she’s absolutely had enough and doesn’t want to go back to America.”
Last week, it was reported that Wayne has agreed to quit playing football for DC United, so that the family can return home. And our insider tells us Coleen was the driving force behind the dramatic decision. “She told Wayne that she’s calling the shots now – she feels she’s suffered enough, thanks to his alleged affairs and drunken behaviour. She said she’s the backbone of the family and he needs to think about what she wants. She doesn’t like living in Washington – she has no friends, family or fun going on for her. She feels that she’s a better mum when she’s in England, because she is happier. She found life in A merica isolating and lonely, and she doesn’t feel like she has a support network around to help her. She had been getting really low and also quite snappy with everyone, and that’s just not who she is.”
While it seems Coleen has finally got what she wanted, we’re told the husband and wife – who have been married since 2008 – are now “at war” over Wayne’s official end date in
‘She’s said Wayne needs to think about what she wants’
the US. The 33 year old signed a three-and-a-half year deal with DC United for £10m back in June 2018, meaning he still has at least two years left with the team. And our source tells us he doesn’t want to appear like a “quitter”. “Wayne knows Coleen isn’t happy and he’s doing the best he can, but he doesn’t like to give up on things,” says the insider. “He has the option to leave earlier, but there’d be a financial penalty. Plus, he doesn’t want his US dream to look like a failure and his friends are worried he might go off the rails again if that happens.”
The insider adds that the problem for the Rooneys is that Coleen is desperate to get back to her family and friends in the UK, and doesn’t want to hang around in Washington any longer than she has to. We’re told, “Coleen wants to start living back in the UK as early as next year, meaning she and Wayne could spend a year living apart and leading very separate lives. Coleen has asked Wayne if he’d leave earlier, but he’s said it would be really difficult. He hasn’t been paid all of the money from the contract upfront, so it wouldn’t be completely impossible to walk away, but they’d lose out on a lot of cash.”
A small price to pay for one of the world’s highest-paid sportsmen surely? Especially if Wayne wants to keep playing happy families. “Suddenly, their marriage has become very fiery, but not necessarily in a good way,” says
‘Wayne’s friends worry he could go off the rails again’
the source. “Their close friends and family are just hoping that they can get on the same page and not have to split the family up geographically for a long time.”
Last week, Wayne made the long trip across the pond to see Coleen and the boys for just three days, and we’re told the couple had a few tense conversations about what the future holds for them. “Coleen is finally taking control and telling Wayne what she wants to do,” we’re told. “He’s really been taken aback. Wayne would be devastated if she and the boys left the US earlier than he did. He doesn’t want to be by himself out there, and has even said that
he is worried that he might get himself into trouble.”
In the short time the family have lived in America, Wayne has hit the headlines for getting in a car with a barmaid after a ten-hour drinking bender, as well as being arrested for public intoxication. And we’re told Coleen has had enough of looking after him. “She is standing firm and saying that he needs to grow up and be able to take care of himself,” our source explains. “She’s had enough of picking up after him and wants to put herself first for a change.” The source adds that all Coleen wants is to go back to her happy life in the UK, but the question is, will she have to leave Wayne behind to get it? “He’s been toying with the idea of quitting football and becoming a sports pundit for some time now, but he still doesn’t feel ready to hang up his boots just yet.
“Coleen is eager for him to retire, move into their Cheshire home, and enjoy a quieter way of life. He’s promised Coleen that, after this stint at DC United, there will be no more playing abroad – in the US or anywhere else.
“She feels that it was a huge mistake for the family to move there, and she is desperate not to go back and stay for the remaining two years of his contract.” n