Wayne Rooney has revealed he used to rely on eye drops and mouthwash to hide his two-day drinking binges.
Speaking ahead of the release of an eye-opening Prime Video documentary, the footballer, admitted he was in a ‘really bad place’ while struggling with pressures of fame, and was forced to hide his boozy sessions when he returned to training.
During an interview on Good Morning Britain, Wayne, 36, said: ‘I’d get a couple of days off and I wouldn’t want to be near anyone. I would sit in the house and for two days, I would just drink.’
Tough: Wayne Rooney has revealed he used to rely on eye drops and mouthwash to hide his two-day drinking binges
He told Ben Shephard: ‘Then on the third day, when I was back in training, I would have to dust myself down and put eye drops in and get through that week’s training. I was in a really bad place.’
Wayne would rely on drops to help make his eyes appear less bloodshot, and the England star was snapped in 2011 using them in his car as he headed to training.
During that year Wayne also told his Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson that he wanted to leave the club – but later signed a new deal and went onto win his fourth Premier League title.
Difficult: The footballer, admitted he was in a ‘really bad place’ while struggling with pressures of fame, and was forced to hide his boozy sessions (pictured 2011)
Wayne’s documentary, titled Rooney, was finally released on Prime Video on Friday, and offers an inside look at the sportsman and his rise to prominence.
Ahead of the film’s release, Wayne shared that he used to go on ‘self-binges’, where he would shut himself in his house and drink for two days.
‘I would actually lock myself away and just drink to try to take all that away from my mind … Locking myself away made me forget some of the issues I was dealing with,’ he said
‘It was like a binge. Normally, that’s with a group of lads but this was a self-binge. I’d get a couple of days off and I wouldn’t want to be near anyone. I would sit in the house and for two days, I would just drink.
Trick: Wayne would rely on drops to help make his eyes appear less bloodshot, and the England star was snapped in 2011 using them in his car as he headed to training
Struggle: During that year Wayne also told his Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson that he wanted to leave the club – but later signed a new deal
Wayne explains that the pressures of going from a council estate upbringing to fame and fortune from the age of 16, when he made his professional debut for Everton, led to what he calls ‘explosions’.
‘I used to hold almost everything in and keep it to myself and it would build up. I would say “F*** it” and go out and make silly mistakes with the explosion,’ he says.
‘I learned that when I felt that coming, I needed to sit down and talk to someone. That calmed things down. I spoke to Coleen quite a few times, her mum and dad and my mum and dad,’ adding: ‘I was trying to figure out how to deal with it by myself.’
Rising star: The sportsman said that he never felt able to turn to his team for help as a young player, as the dressing room culture was different ’10, 15 years ago’
Discussing his struggles on BBC Breakfast, Wayne confessed he didn’t have control of his drinking, explaining: ‘I knew if I had one glass then it’ll lead to two, three, four and then, that’s when I know, once that happens, there’s no good going to come of that.’
He added that he never felt able to turn to his team for help as a young player, as the dressing room culture was different ’10, 15 years ago’.
‘I couldn’t go into a dressing room and say “I’m struggling, I’m struggling with alcohol, I’m struggling mental health wise”, I couldn’t do that’.
Rooney is now available to view on Prime Video.
‘Wrong place’: Wayne also discusses the period, admitting: ‘When you’re in the wrong place and there’s alcohol involved you’re gonna make bad decisions