Wayne Rooney has insisted he would be dead if it wasn’t for his wife Coleen who he says ‘saved’ him from alcoholism.

The former footballer, 39, has opened up on just how bad his struggles became in a new interview with Rio Ferdinand’s podcast.

During his younger days, Wayne wanted nothing more than to hang out and have fun with his friends, but he eventually realized he had taken things too far, leading to significant personal struggles.

He admitted: ‘I didn’t think I could turn to anyone. I didn’t really want to because I didn’t want to put that burden on anyone.’

Wayne recalled one incident where he ‘drank for two days straight’ before turning up for football training.

To keep his difficulties hidden from his team and manager, Wayne resorted to using eye drops, chewing gum, and aftershave to disguise the effects of his extended partying.

Wayne Rooney has insisted he would be dead if it wasn’t for his wife Coleen who he says ‘saved’ him from alcoholism (pictured in 2007)

The former footballer, 39, has opened up on just how bad his struggles became in a new interview with Rio Ferdinand 

Wayne said his drinking got to a point ‘where I went too far’ as he added it left him ‘struggling massively’ (pictured in 2007)

However, he explained: ‘Come training and at the weekend I’d scored two goals and then I’d go back and go and drink for two days straight again.’

In a heartfelt confession, Wayne expressed deep gratitude to his wife and mother of his four children, Coleen, stating, “I truly believe that if she wasn’t there, I wouldn’t be alive today.”

He expressed great admiration for Coleen, saying: “Coleen has played an enormous role in my life. It’s remarkable because we were just two kids from Croxteth who grew up together, started dating, got married, and now have children.”

He added, “Even when I was 17, she could see and understand that my mind was a bit adventurous. I was passionate about football, completely obsessed, but I also enjoyed going out and having a good time.”

‘She’s seen it very early on and she’s controlled that. Well, not controlled but helped me control that massively.

‘And at times you’re like, “What are you doing? Why do you keep saying don’t do this or don’t do that?”

‘How she’s managed me because I needed managing.’

Wayne continued to commend his wife, noting: “She’s the best person, and while my past mistakes are well-known and plentiful, she has always kept me grounded and has been doing so for over two decades.”

In a bid to conceal his problem from the rest of his team and manager, Wayne would use eye drops, chewing gum and aftershave to mask his two-day binge

Coleen and Wayne married in 2008 and have four children together – Kai, 15, Klay, 11, Kit, eight, and Cass, six (pictured)

Coleen and Wayne met when they were just 12 years old in Liverpool and started dating when they were 16.

The couple married in 2008 and have four children together –  Kai, 15, Klay, 11, Kit, eight, and Cass, six. 

Coleen has had to endure several high-profile alleged cheating scandals – with the footballer making national headlines when he was found to have visited three prostitutes as a teenager.

In 2004 after Wayne, then aged 18, moved to Manchester United, it was discovered that the teenager allegedly paid £140 for sex with prostitute Charlotte Glover, 21.

It was also claimed that at a brothel in Liverpool he slept with Gina McCarrick, then 37, and grandmother Patricia Tierney, then 48.

Devastated Coleen stood by her man but didn’t comment publicly on the claims. 

Speaking in a 2023 Amazon Prime documentary on her husband’s life and football career, Coleen also candidly discussed her husband’s cheating.

She credited her parents Colette and Tony for their support, as she admits part of the reason she chose to stay in her marriage during Wayne’s various cheating and drinking scandals was for their children. 

Coleen and Wayne married in 2008 and have four children together – Kai, 15, Klay, 11, Kit, eight, and Cass, six

Coleen previously said she turned to her parents for support during Wayne’s various cheating and drinking scandals and said part of her decision to stay was for their children

She said: ‘When you’re making those decisions you’ve got to focus on what you want and not other people because you have so many people saying different things to you. ‘Oh why is she getting back with him?”

‘Obviously I listen to the people that matter to me, my mum and dad always give me a positive outlook on things. There’s nothing that we can’t deal with and that’s my way in a situation – let’s sit down and see what we can do and can we make it work? And we have. We’re not the lovey-dovey type anyway, we like to have a laugh and we work well together.’

Earlier this year the Daily Mail revealed how Coleen is to star in a £10 million fly-on-the-wall reality show on streaming giant Disney+ after it triumphed in a bidding war against Amazon  

After months of back and forth between the rival broadcasters, Disney+ have won the race with the massive fee, and cameras will go inside the Rooneys’ £20 million super-mansion in Cheshire.

The ‘at-home-with’ format is expected to see former England footballer Wayne Rooney appear alongside his wife and their boys.

She is the main breadwinner of the household, after Wayne was sacked as manager of Plymouth Argyle In December.

His ousting came after just 25 matches in charge of the club.

If you’ve been affected by this story, the Drinkline helpline is available on 0300 123 1110 or Drinkline Scotland on 0800 7314 314 

Listen to the full Rio Meets Wayne Rooney interview on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.