FOOTBALL superstar Wayne Rooney could have a nightmare commute after being slapped with a hefty two-year ban for drink-driving.
Of course, the Everton ace can afford a chauffeur driven lift – but we’ve looked at his alternative options now that he won’t be behind the wheel until September 2019.
No longer able to drive the 55 minutes from his Cheshire home to training, the Everton striker will need to decide how to get to work and keep up with his packed schedule – and the options don’t make happy reading for the ex-England captain.
If he can’t tag along in the backseat with any of his teammates, he may find his 37-mile commute from his home in Prestbury to Everton’s Finch Farm training ground becomes something of a nightmare.
So how will the Premier League ace actually get himself to work each day if he can’t get on the road? Public transport is always an option.
Unfortunately for Wayne, his £10 million country mansion in Cheshire isn’t exactly located near the fastest rail network in the country.
If he was to jump on a train at Prestbury, he would have to ride Northern Rail to Manchester Piccadilly, then change trains and sit on the Transpennine Express to Liverpool South Parkway.
A short 20 minute bus ride would then take him to within a mile of Finch Farm, where he could finish the two-hour and 15 minutes commute with a brisk walk mile to training.
Wayne better hope the trains aren’t delayed or on strike, either.
The two-year period could end up costing him a total £24,000 on train fare alone – just over a day’s wages.
And there is, of course, the possibility that Rooney’s community service could involve cleaning graffiti from the inside of train carriages, in which case he might as well kill two birds with one stone and make his way to training while he does it.
It is likely the 31-year-old won’t fancy all that time on public transport everyday wishing he never had that last Stella, so a taxi might be a better option.
He could nab himself a lift with Uber for around £69 each way, forking out a rather unsettling £138 for the round trip – little more than the cost of a round of drinks at one of the swanky nightclubs in Alderley Edge.
And while a mere £690 a week in cab fares seems like pocket change to a man who earns £150,000 in the same period, that sure does seem like pints of money he is just throwing down the drain.
But it’s not all bad.
Wayne could always use this opportunity to build on his fitness, and turn his headache commute into a health drive and adopt a new hobby.
A road cycle out to the Everton training facility would take the England international a mere three hours – less if he really guns it.
Or if he is really feeling adventurous, Google Maps has the 34 mile walk logged at just 11 hours in duration – easily cut down to 10 for an athlete like Rooney, or as low as six if he gets a jog on.
HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH The UK drink driving limit, number of legal units you are allowed and how to avoid a ban like Wayne’s
Fortunately for Wayne, he will soon be moving house to within 27 miles of Finch Farm, making life just that little easier.
Even so, the next 24 months promise to give the footballer plenty of insight into the joys of rush hour commuting.
And if the commute gets too much, he can always take one of these die-hard fans up on their offer of a lift.
Fans also tweeted to Rooney making fun of his now infamous 2011 tweet to Rio Ferdinand, when he clearly didn’t understand exactly how Twitter worked.
Thinking he was sending a message directly to Ferdinand, Rooney tweeted:
Unfortunately for the Everton striker, fans have noticed the irony.