Wayne Rooney cosies up to brunette beauty and guzzles pints of Stella in 3am boozing session while his wife Coleen’s away
WAYNE Rooney stunned onlookers by cosying up to a brunette reveller in a 3am boozing session.
They chatted alone for half an hour as the struggling Manchester United striker, 31, guzzled lager at the Marlborough Arms, Chester, while wife Coleen was abroad.
Meanwhile, footage emerged showing Rooney slumped in a taxi after a previous binge two years ago, seemingly unable to remember which house was his.
Boozy Rooney necked at least five pints of strong lager hours after tweeting how he was preparing for the vital Manchester derby.
He scored in a 2-0 Premier League win at Burnley and wrote: “Good win today and a solid performance from the team. Time to get ready for Thursday.”
The Manchester United striker guzzled Stella Artois until 3am.
In the latest binge dad-of-three Rooney, 31, arrived at the pub with pals on Sunday night.
An onlooker said: “He sank quite a few pints of Stella — at least five. That’s a considerable amount for a professional footballer.”
He was back in action for United on Sunday, scoring a penalty to put them ahead against Swansea.
But the news is likely to infuriate strict United boss Jose Mourinho who has already warned Rooney about his drinking habits.
The £300,000-a-week player has struggled for form and had just returned to the starting line-up.
He was said to be in “high spirits” at the pub, remaining seated while his friends went to the bar for him and ensured fans kept their distance.
But they gave Rooney space as he chatted for more than half-an-hour with a brunette reveller.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing as they both later left separately with pals.
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The onlooker said: “The pub has a late licence and is a hotspot for workers in the hospitality industry who go there after their shifts. You would not expect to see a top footballer in there, really.
“Rooney came in and took a bench at the back next to the smoking area.
“He was definitely in very high spirits after the win.
“He tried to remain under the radar by asking his mates to go to the bar.
His banter must have been on top form
Onlookers
"His mates also stopped anyone from getting near to him or asking for a selfie.
“However, he had a right good natter with a brunette girl I’d seen having a drink in the bar next door earlier in the night. She wore a low-cut black top.
“His banter must have been on top form as she seemed very entertained.
“But nothing untoward happened as he and his friends left just after 3am, when a few more people approached him for a selfie outside.
“I know his United career has been stuttering and he had just made a great return to the team and scored. But he should be in bed recovering, not out on the rip.
“His boozy celebrations are more commonly seen by blokes playing in the Sunday League rather than Premier League.”
Another witness said Rooney — snapped smoking several times in the past — appeared to be chewing tobacco from a tin.
They said: “He kept taking bits out and putting it in his mouth for a bit before spitting it out.”
The Sun on Sunday is not naming the 30-year-old woman drinker. The mother of two said they just had a friendly chat, adding: “I don’t really want to talk about him. Nothing happened.”
Mourinho, who put Rooney on the bench for the match against Manchester City, has always taken a strong stand on boozing.
Mourinho enforced a strict code of conduct when Chelsea manager, with one clause stating: “Players have an absolute duty to maintain a lifestyle that protects their capacity to play to the best of their ability.
“This requires that they follow a healthy diet, drink alcohol in moderation, avoid drugs and ensure they have enough sleep.”
As well as his boss, Rooney will also have to answer questions from wife Coleen, who was in Spain to take seven-year-old son Kai to Barcelona’s match at Real Madrid.
The 31-year-old mum tweeted: “Great night with Kai at Madrid v Barcelona . . . lucky boy.”
Thirst getting better of him
WAYNE Rooney’s latest boozing session is only likely to confirm what his Man Utd manager Jose Mourinho and England boss Gareth Southgate already knew.
That the man who is the all-time record goalscorer for club and country does not look after himself sufficiently well to extend his elite career for much longer.
He has been frozen out of the United starting line-up for much of the season and Southgate is unlikely to pick him for the Three Lions again.
Rooney is not a natural athlete and needs to work hard to stay in shape. It’s clear his thirst gets the better of him too often. It looks like time to head off to semi-retirement in the US or China as he can no longer operate consistently at the sharp end of the Premier League.
— By Dave Kidd, Chief Sports Writer
Meanwhile, footage was shared on social media showing Rooney nodding off in the back of a taxi in August 2015 after being picked up from a Manchester casino in the early hours.
It was the day after United’s opening game of that season against Spurs. Critics had slammed his performance, but the club captain should at least have been in peak condition and looking after his health.
Instead, boxing fan Rooney, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a picture of former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, was out for the count.
Images show him unable to tell the driver his address, having seemingly drunk too much to remember exactly where his £6million mansion is. He was driven around for 15 minutes.
The driver claims he repeatedly tried to wake him.
The film was taken when he finally pulled over on the posh street in Prestbury, Cheshire, where Rooney lives.
When he is eventually roused, he points out the front gates to his plush pad and pleads to be guided up his driveway and left at his front door.
His driver said: “I was actually quite excited when Wayne Rooney got in the back of my cab — but he ended up being the disaster that every driver wants to avoid.
“He was so drunk he couldn’t even point out to me his right address. I spent around 15 minutes driving up and down his street trying to find the right one.
“I picked him up and he was completely wasted. He wasn’t being rowdy or aggressive.
“To be honest he wasn’t in a fit position to do anything.”
He arrived home just after 2.30am, having travelled the entire 19-mile journey without wearing a seatbelt.
Rooney, who was also pictured swigging from a bottle in Las Vegas in 2014, is expected to play tomorrow for United against Swansea at Old Trafford.
Drunken history keeps on repeating
ROONEY’S drunken antics have a history of landing him in trouble.
Last November he went to a wedding party while on England duty and boozed till 5am.
Photos showed him slumped on a sofa with two women after getting sozzled on red wine.
Witnesses told how he shouted obscenities at the DJ.
It was claimed one man threatened to punch him for being too friendly to his wife.
Rooney’s spokesman said after: “Wayne is sorry that pictures taken with fans have been published. He fully recognises that the images are inappropriate for someone in his position.”
In March 2015 Rooney was knocked out by Stoke’s Phil Bardsley in a kitchen boxing bout after a boozy session.
In 2012 he was fined £250,000 and dropped after arriving for training “worse for wear”.
In August 2010 Rooney was pictured peeing up a wall and chanting football songs after partying all night with pals.
In June 2008 the striker was seen drinking at a Las Vegas pool party. Two weeks earlier he was spotted chain-smoking cigarettes during a 16-hour bender on his stag do in Ibiza.
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