WAYNE ROONEY has revealed the lengths he would go to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes as a teenager.
And despite getting caught by academy boss Colin Harvey the former striker went on to become an icon at his boyhood club Everton.
When he was just 16 Rooney made his senior debut at Everton in the 2002-03 season.
But by then he was chugging cider and lighting up cigarettes and was busted two years prior by his youth coach while crossing the road.
After he was caught the 38-year-old said he would look for low key spots to drink including breaking into abandoned houses to do so.
Speaking to fellow Liverpudlian Jamie Carragher on the Stick to Football podcast brought to you by Sky Bet, he said: “You Jamie Carragher know where I grew up.
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“It wasn’t an easy place to live but, I absolutely loved growing up there, it taught me so many different things.
“I remember when I was 14, I was crossing the road, I think it was a Thursday or something like that, and I was playing for the U19’s on the Saturday for Everton, Colin Harvey was the manager.
“So, I’m crossing the road, I’ve got 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 and we’d knock the windows through, and we’d sit in there and drink.”
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Despite Rooney’s mischief during his teenage years he went on to have a glittering career at Manchester United.
Raking in 12 major titles and becoming the club’s all-time record goalscorer.
He then repeated the same record for England before it was broken 11 years later by Harry Kane.
Rooney did admit the alcohol hindered his playing career and if he had stopped he may have been able to take his career to the next level.
He continued: “When you look back, I think – and I spoke about it when I did the documentary – I had different issues, ended up drinking way too much and obviously that took its toll.
“You can always look back and think – ‘If you didn’t do that, would you have played at an even higher level, achieved more, played for longer’ – all these questions, again, it’s hindsight.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
