ROONEY DRINK-DRIVE CHARGE
Wayne arrested driving brunette in her VW Beetle
FORMER England captain Wayne Rooney was charged with drink-driving yesterday after a night on the town ended in police cells.
The Everton star was stopped in a black VW Beetle a few miles from his Cheshire mansion shortly after 2am.
He was reportedly driving a 29year-old brunette office worker home in her car because she was too drunk to drive.
His wife Coleen, who is expecting their fourth child, has been in Mallorca. Last night she was said to be on her way home.
On Thursday night Rooney, 31, was spotted with friends, dancing on tables and singing Oasis songs at the trendy Bubble Room bar in Alderley Edge, Cheshire.
Just days ago he announced his retirement from international football ahead of England’s away World Cup qualifier with Malta last night.
A fellow customer, Shropshire cricketer Jack McIver, posted a “selfie” picture on social media with the footballer at the bar at 10pm. McIver added the comment: “International Break #legend.” The picture was later removed.
Rooney, former Manchester United star Wes Brown, and the brother of Burnley defender Phil Bardsley sang and danced to Oasis numbers played by local band Funky Treacle.
The Everton player then reportedly moved on to cocktail bar Symposium in Wilmslow, two miles away. Police arrested Rooney as he drove along Altrincham Road, Wilmslow. He later spent 11 hours at the Cheshire Police custody suite in Middlewich before he was freed on bail.
Rooney, stubble-chinned and wearing a grey hoodie, was collected just after lunchtime yesterday by his agent Paul Stretford in a black Range Rover. Rooney tried to hide his face as the car sped away.
He arrived back at the family’s £6million home in Prestbury yesterday afternoon but declined to comment.
He will face magistrates in Stockport on September 18, the day after Everton take on his old club Manchester United at Old Trafford. If convicted Rooney faces a driving ban of at least a year and an unlimited fine.
A spokesman for Cheshire Police said yesterday: “Wayne Rooney, 31, of Prestbury, has since been charged with driving while over the prescribed limit.”
Rooney spent Thursday morning training at Everton’s Finch Farm training ground. He was apparently seen at Piccolino’s Italian restaurant in Alderley Edge later that afternoon and posted a picture of himself with a group of disabled children on his Instagram account, with the message: “Looking back on a special day with the @waynerooneyfoundation. Looking forward to some exciting news coming soon.”
Rooney signed for Everton as a schoolboy and was 16 when he became the Premier League’s youngest goal scorer. He netted a last-minute winner against Arsenal. He joined Manchester United in August 2004 for a £25.6million record transfer fee for a teenager.
In September 2015 he broke Bobby Charlton’s record to become England’s all-time leading goal scorer. He hit 53 goals in 119 appearances.
In January he broke another of Sir Bobby’s records to become all-time leading goal scorer for United when he scored his 250th goal for the club against Stoke. Sir Bobby’s’s record had stood for 44 years. Rooney scored three more goals for the team before his transfer back to Everton over the summer after 13 years at United. He was given a two-year contract and has scored in each of his opening two Premier League matches
Rooney met childhood sweetheart Coleen, also 31, at school. They have lived in their Prestbury mansion for 12 years,
However the couple and sons Kai, seven, Klay, four and Kit, one, are believed to be planning to move to a new six-bedroom house in nearby Knutsford.
Rooney’s agent and Everton club were both unavailable for comment yesterday.
Locals at the Bubble Bar, where regulars include former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and soccer pundit Robbie Savage, said Rooney seemed to be having “a whale of a time”
One said: “He was singing and dancing on the tables and having a whale of a time. The irony is that if he had been On England duty he would have been with the squad and this would never have happened.”
Another said: “You wonder if someone tipped off the police. I can’t believe he didn’t get a cab. It would have cost him nothing.”
‘He was singing and having a whale of a time’