Coleen, My Saviour: Wayne Rooney Reveals Wife Saved Him from Deadly Drinking Spiral
English football icon Wayne Rooney has made a stunning and raw confession, stating that he believes he would be dead today if his wife, Coleen Rooney, had not intervened to help him manage his severe issues with alcohol.
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Speaking candidly on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, the former England and Manchester United star opened up to his long-time friend and teammate, detailing the destructive cycle that defined the peak of his playing career. The revelation offers a stark look behind the scenes of one of modern football’s most celebrated, yet troubled, figures.
The Two-Day Drinking Routine
Rooney, 39, confessed that even while performing at the highest level—where he became the all-time leading goalscorer for both Manchester United and the England national team—he was battling a private turmoil.
His routine, as he described it, was a shocking contradiction: “come training and at the weekend I’d score two goals and then I’d go back and go and drink for two days straight again.” This pattern of binge drinking was an attempt to cope with the immense pressure and the mental struggles that came with global superstardom.
The footballer admitted that his efforts to conceal his state from legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson were elaborate, resorting to chewing gum and using eye drops to mask the signs of his weekend benders before arriving at the Manchester United training ground.
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“If She Weren’t There, I’d Be Dead”
The heart of Rooney’s confession was his powerful tribute to Coleen. Having met as secondary school students in Liverpool and married in 2008, he credits her foresight and unwavering support as his lifeline.
“She helped me control that massively and managed me because I needed managing,” Rooney shared. He added with stunning honesty, “I honestly believe, if she weren’t there, I’d be dead.”
Rooney acknowledged that Coleen saw his volatile tendencies early on, even as a teenager. “When I was 17, she could see, she knew my mind and she knew I was a bit out there,” he said. While he was obsessed with football, he also “loved a night out.” Coleen, he noted, “helped me control that massively” over the course of their two decades together, preventing his actions from leading to a tragic end.
A Public Life of Private Struggle
The couple, who share four children, have navigated a marriage fraught with highly publicized incidents related to Rooney’s alcohol use and infidelity, for which he has issued numerous public apologies.
In 2017, he was famously arrested for drink-driving in Cheshire, an offence for which he pleaded guilty, receiving a two-year driving ban and a substantial fine from his then-club, Everton.
A year later, he was arrested for “public intoxication” while playing in the US, settling the matter with a fine.
These documented issues underscore the severe personal battles the football legend was fighting behind his celebrated public image.
Now 39, and having recently stepped down from his coaching role at Plymouth Argyle, Wayne Rooney is focusing on his media career, hosting his own BBC podcast and serving as a pundit on Match Of The Day.
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His decision to speak so openly on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast marks a significant step in addressing the mental health and addiction struggles that often plague professional athletes, highlighting the critical importance of a stable and supportive family foundation.
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