It is a strong testimony.
After the secrets of several athletes, including Bojan Krkic or Naomi Osaka, on the consequences of pressure in sport, it's Wayne Rooney's turn to talk about his career.
Revealed at 16 at Everton, and propelled to England star at Euro 2004, the former glory of Manchester United struggled to assume his new status and failed to fill his loneliness: "J I made a lot of mistakes when I was young, some made it to the press, some didn't.
To manage that, to manage everything that was in the press, to manage my relationship with the coach (Alex Ferguson) at the time, to manage with my family at the time, it was very difficult, ”explained the Derby County coach to the Mail on Sunday, ahead of the release of his documentary Rooney on Amazon:
𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲
𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜: Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand and many more 🎬
Available on Prime Video from 11 February... pic.twitter.com/tNLnGnfSgm
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) February 5, 2022
"It was drinking"
The Manchester United striker also spoke about his problems with alcohol, to combat the pressure: “There were times when we had a few days off and I would lock myself up to just drink and erase all that from my mind.
Locking myself away made me forget some of the issues I was struggling with.
It was binge drinking,” he said.
“I was constantly angry and aggressive.
I had a lot of pain inside me.
It took me a while to figure out how to handle that.
It was a very difficult period.
I understood that I had to sit down and talk to someone.
It calmed things down.
I spoke with Coleen (his wife), his parents and mine.
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Today Derby County coach, Wayne Rooney has managed to raise his head and is overjoyed by his situation: “Everything that happens to me at Derby makes me think even more that I can have a good career as a coach, he says. .
I feel capable of going to the Premier League now.
I have no more fears about it.
I know my strengths and, more importantly, I know my weaknesses.
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