Wayne Rooney is firmly back in the spotlight at the moment, with the Manchester United legend involved in a number of major media projects.
The Real Rooneys is set to premiere on Disney+ this week, giving viewers an unprecedented look into the lives of Wayne, wife Coleen and their four children.
The 10-part documentary series follows the family through their life away from football, with cameras given access to their home as Rooney adjusts to life after football management.
Wayne Rooney is currently also appearing alongside Mark Goldbridge every week on Stick to United, the Manchester United-focused show available through The United Stand and Disney+.
There have even been reports linking the former England captain with a potential appearance on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, following Coleen’s successful stint in the jungle.
But not all of the recent attention surrounding Rooney has been related to his latest television ventures.
A claim made by one of his former England teammates has now prompted the 40-year-old to instruct his lawyers, with the dispute potentially heading towards legal action.
The Sun reports that legal representatives for Wayne Rooney have sent a strongly-worded letter to the publishers of Andy Carroll’s forthcoming autobiography, Owning It, disputing claims made about the former Manchester United striker.
Carroll, who played alongside Rooney for England, alleges in the book that the Manchester United legend would invite international teammates to his hotel room for drinks and cigarettes while away on Three Lions duty around 2010 and 2011.
The former Liverpool and Newcastle United striker portrays the gatherings as relatively informal, claiming that nobody became heavily intoxicated and that they were instead Rooney’s way of breaking up the monotony of international camps.
Wayne Rooney strongly disputes Carroll’s version of events.
The Sun reports that his legal team has contacted Pan Macmillan, the publisher behind Owning It, demanding that the claims are retracted and warning that further legal action could follow if the issue isn’t resolved.
The report adds that Carroll had not expected such a strong response from his former England teammate and could now issue a public apology in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
The timing adds another interesting dimension to the story.
Carroll’s autobiography is scheduled to be released on September 24 – the exact same day that The Real Rooneys premieres on Disney+.
That means two very different accounts involving Wayne Rooney will arrive on the same day: one offering the former England captain and his family the opportunity to tell their own story and another containing allegations from one of his former international teammates that Rooney insists are untrue.
Whether the disputed passages remain in Owning It when it is released remains to be seen, but Rooney’s lawyers have made his position on Carroll’s claims abundantly clear.
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