Wayne Rooney charged with drink-driving in VW Beetle at 2am - police say

Wayne Rooney has been arrested on suspicion of drink driving, according to reports in England

Jack de Menezes

Wayne Rooney has been charged with drink-driving after the Everton striker was pulled over in the early hours of Friday morning while behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Beetle, Cheshire Police have confirmed.

A statement issued on Friday afternoon confirmed that 31-year-old Rooney was stopped by police shortly after 2am following a night out on Thursday, and he has since been bailed to appear in court on 18 September.

The statement read: “Cheshire police has charged a man with drink-driving following a vehicle stop in Wilmslow.

“The man was arrested shortly after 2:00am today, Friday 1 September, after officers stopped a black VW Beetle on Altrincham Road, Wilmslow.

“Wayne Rooney, aged 31, of Collar House Drive, Prestbury, has since been charged with driving whilst over the prescribed limit.

“Rooney has been released on bail and is due to appear at Stockport Magistrates’ Court on 18/9/2017.”

Earlier in the night, the footballer had been pictured at the Bubble Room Bar in Alderley Edge, with the image appearing on Instagram at around 8.30pm.

Rooney is England's all-time leading scorer with 53 goals in 119 appearances and last week announced his international retirement after leaving Manchester United to return to his boy-hood club Everton, meaning he is not with the England squad in Malta ahead of their 2018 World Cup qualifier on Friday night.

His arrest comes 13 years to the day that he joined United, where he went on to become the club’s record goalscorer and captain before departing earlier in the summer.

The Croxteth-born striker recently announced that he and wife, Colleen, are expecting their fourth child to join their three sons Klay, Kai and Kit.

The incident also comes 10 months after he was seen “stumbling around” at a wedding reception following England’s 2018 World Cup qualifier victory over Scotland, in which the then-captain was said to be in a state where he could “hardly speak” after crashing the party with other members of the squad.

Having spent the last 12 years living in Prestbury, Rooney and his family are planning to move into a new £10m mansion in the Cheshire countryside.