Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney has taken to Facebook to deny allegations that he stole items from a VIP hospitality box at Wembley.
The allegations were made by the Sunday Mirror, but have been emphatically denied by Rooney, who will take legal action against the newspaper.
The newspaper claims that Rooney stole several Nike items at an event in 2014, and is supported by a video, but the striker was keen to deny those claims.
Security film showed the £300,000-a-week Manchester United and England captain rifling through a display cabinet in Nike’s corporate hospitality box.
Laughing Rooney , 30, repeatedly turns to three pals as he decides what to take and what to put the booty in.
At one point he pulls out a trainer that had been playfully stuffed down the back of his trousers.
Eventually he takes a plastic liner from a bin, tips the trash out and pops footwear and other items into the bag. The footage from the home of English football will put father-of-three Rooney’s behaviour under the spotlight.
Not realising he had been caught on film, a spokesman for Rooney denied he had taken anything and said: “There is no truth whatsoever in the anonymous claims which the Sunday Mirror has put to us. They are false and defamatory of Wayne Rooney.”
He added: “Wayne Rooney took no items whatsoever from the Nike box.”
A spokesman for the FA offered no comment but a Wembley official claimed no items were taken and said a senior security boss “was with Wayne all evening, as is normal practice”.
Even a spokesman for Nike said: “This story is not true. We can confirm that nothing was taken from the Nike box.”
Rooney hasn’t featured since last month because of a knee injury. The forward started the season slowly, but has still managed to score seven goals in the Premier League this campaign, while he has created 34 chances for his team- mates.
Despite his struggles on the field in recent seasons, Rooney remains a hugely important player for England and is expected to lead the line for Roy Hodgson’s side at Euro 2016.
Before then the striker will hope to play a prominent part in the closing stages as United seek to progress in the FA Cup and secure a top four finish in the Premier League.United manager Louis Van Gaal has continued to keep faith with Rooney, even when the forward has been short of confidence and form this season.
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