Rooney's Personal Life

Personal life

In addition to Everton, Rooney also supports Celtic.^[192] He is also a big supporter of the Leeds Rhinos rugby league club^[193]

In June 2011, he visited the Harley Street Hair Clinic and had a hair transplant.^[194]

It was announced in July 2011, that Wayne Rooney's jersey was the best-selling sports product that is under the auspices of the Premier League. Manchester United sold, during the 2009–10 season, between 1.2 million and one and a half million shirts and it is estimated that of that, Rooney's name was printed on several hundred thousand. The account is taken from official jerseys sales across the globe, not just in England.^[195]

Family

Rooney's wife, Coleen, in October 2006

Rooney met his wife, Coleen Rooney (née McLoughlin), while both were at secondary school.^[196]They married on 12 June 2008 after six years of dating, during which Rooney admitted to solicitingprostitution in Liverpool in 2004. "I was young and stupid. It was at a time when I was very young and immature and before I had settled down with Coleen."^[197] He has a tattoo of the words "Just Enough Education to Perform", the title of an album by his favourite band, the Stereophonics; Coleen arranged for the group to play at their wedding reception.^[198] The wedding ran into some controversy with the Catholic Church. The couple held a religious ceremony at the Abbey of Cervara, a converted monastery near Genoa, despite being warned by the local bishop's office against the plan. The bishop's office told the Rooneys that La Cervara is deconsecrated and not suitable for a wedding.^[199]It suggested a different church, five miles away.^[199] Nevertheless, the couple ignored the advice and Father Edward Quinn, their local priest from Croxteth, presided over a ceremony in which rings were exchanged.^[200]

In April 2006, he was awarded £100,000 in libel damages from tabloids The Sun and News of the World, who had claimed that he had assaulted Coleen in a nightclub. Rooney donated the money to charity.^[201]

The Rooneys reside in a £4.25 million mansion in the village of Prestbury, Cheshire,^[202] which was built by a company owned by Dawn Ward, the wife of former Sheffield United striker Ashley Ward.^[203] He also owns property in Port Charlotte, Florida.^[204] While Rooney was house hunting in Cheshire after signing with Manchester United, he spotted a pub sign that read "Admiral Rodney", which he misread as "Admiral Rooney." He nonetheless considered it a positive omen for his future home.^[205][206] Rooney owns a French mastiff dog, which was reportedly bought for £1,250.^[207]

Rooney's wife Coleen announced on 7 April 2009 that the couple were expecting their first baby.^[208] Coleen gave birth to their son, Kai Wayne Rooney, on 2 November 2009.^[209]

Rooney's younger brother, John Rooney, is also a professional footballer, who has played with Macclesfield Town, and in January 2011 signed a contract to play in Major League Soccer in the United States.^[210] John was selected by the New York Red Bulls in the second round of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft.^[211]