UK Edition
Wayne Rooney has been charged with drink-driving after he was stopped behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Beetle near his £6 million home in the early hours of Friday morning.
England’s former captain and record goalscorer was released on bail and ordered to appear at Stockport magistrates’ court on Sept 18 after being pulled over and arrested by Cheshire Police shortly after 2am in Wilmslow while driving a car allegedly owned by a 29-year-old female office worker. His wife, Coleen, is on holiday in Spain.
His arrest came after he was seen dancing on the tables at a local bar, The Bubble Room, and singing along to Oasis songs before moving on to late-night cocktail bar The Symposium.
If convicted, Rooney could be fined and banned from driving for at least a year, with the Government’s guidance on drink-driving penalties warning those found guilty could even be imprisoned for six months.
He could also face disciplinary action from Everton, with manager Ronald Koeman having brought him back to his boyhood club from Manchester United partly to act as a role model for their young players.
Rooney will appear in court less than 24 hours after the clubs meet at Old Trafford for the first time since he rejoined the Merseysiders.
The 31-year-old trained with Everton on Thursday, which marked the 13th anniversary of his move to United, ahead of his night out.
Having retired from international football barely a week earlier, he was in the middle of a two-week rest from playing while his former England team-mates prepared for their World Cup qualifying double-header in Malta on Friday and against Slovakia on Monday.
After being spotted at Italian restaurant Piccolino at about 4pm, he was seen partying at The Bubble Room later that evening with friends, including former United colleague Wes Brown.
They were said to have been singing and dancing while local band Funky Treacle played Oasis covers, with Rooney joining in with a rendition of Wonderwall.
Shropshire cricketer Jack McIver posted a picture on Instagram of himself with Rooney at the venue at around 10pm, alongside the caption: “International Break #legend.”
It was after moving on to The Symposium that Rooney allegedly got behind the wheel of a black Beetle before being pulled over.
He was arrested and remained in custody until his agent, Paul Stretford, picked him up from the Middlewich Custody Suite, with Rooney still wearing the grey hoodie in which he was pictured the night before.
Speaking to The Sun, Laura Simpson, whose VW car Rooney was driving when the pair were pulled over, said that they had been socialising together that evening.
Discussing the moments before they were pulled over, she said: “We were just driving and then there was just blue flashing lights behind us. Wayne was pi**ed right off. And really worried about it. I didn’t know what to make of it, it all happened so fast. It was a whirlwind.
“We got the taxi to go and pick up my car. I was too drunk to drive and as it was just me and him he offered to drive. I don’t really know where we were planning on going.
“I didn’t have any involvement with the police side of things, they kept me well away. The police drove my car to Night in the cells for ‘drink driving’ Rooney my friend’s house where I was meant to be staying that night – and where I ended up staying.”
England manager Gareth Southgate had planned to recall Rooney for Friday and Monday’s crucial qualifiers before the latter announced his international retirement after 119 caps and 53 goals.
Rooney had not played for his country since November, when he was forced to apologise for staying up drinking until 5am and gatecrashing a wedding party after their qualifying victory against Scotland.
The team had a friendly against Spain days later, which Southgate said Rooney had missed through injury.
Rooney escaped disciplinary action but Southgate said at his unveiling as permanent England manager the following month that it was “not intelligent” for the striker to have been drinking into the early hours between games.
The former defender added: “The days are gone from when I was younger, where we did have beers after a game. Fish and chips and beer on the way home on the coach, and probably fall off the bus. The rest of the league aren’t doing that now. The rest of the world aren’t doing that.”
Rooney was also reportedly spotted in April at a late-night Chester pub drinking pints to celebrate a United win over Burnley, with stories emerging the following month that he had lost £500,000 in just two hours during a visit to a casino.
A spokesman for Rooney declined to comment on his drink-driving charge, while Everton did not respond to requests for comment.