Wayne Rooney reveals odd gift he received from Argentine icon Diego Maradona - and Man Utd legend still has it at home!

The impromptu crossing of paths took place in 2013. Rooney headed out for some food after enduring a frustrating evening of European commitments with United. The Red Devils’ all-time leading goalscorer was “fuming” at Sir Alex Ferguson for starting him on the bench in a meeting with Real Madrid.

United had picked up an impressive 1-1 draw at Santiago Bernabeu during the first leg of a last-16 showdown, with Rooney admitting that the Blancos’ iconic home is one of his favourite venues to visit.

Speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show, the former frontman said: “We got a good result. Danny Welbeck scored a header, I crossed it in for a corner, Welbeck scored and we drew the game 1-1.”

Despite making an important contribution to the cause on Spanish soil, Rooney was named among the substitutes when a heavyweight encounter headed back to Old Trafford. He added on that snub: “He left me on the bench for the return leg. Alex Ferguson pulled me in and told me I was going to be on the bench, which I was fuming with, because I played out of position, I did a job for the team, helped us get a good draw away from home, and we got beat (2-1 on the night).”

With emotions still running high, Rooney sought to clear his head when visiting the Wing’s restaurant - which has been a popular eatery for Premier League footballers down the years. He had no idea that a sporting GOAT was about to put a smile on his face.

Rooney said of bumping into Maradona: “It was that evening actually - I went to Wing's restaurant in my tracksuit, and Maradona was in there. I got a picture with him and stuff. He had a full suit on, and tie, and then he gave me his tie. It was a bit weird, he took his tie off, put it on me, my club tracksuit still on.”

Maradona had been in attendance to watch United face Real Madrid. He was a regular visitor to Manchester around that time as his daughter Giannina was married to City’s Argentina international striker Sergio Aguero.

With Rooney being cut from similar cloth to Maradona, the 1986 World Cup winner was always full of praise for the stocky United star - who never gave anything less than 100 per cent when taking to the field.

After seeing Rooney make his senior debut for England at 17 years of age, in a Euro 2004 qualifier against Macedonia, Maradona said of a mercurial talent: “'They don't come along that often, players who can go on and become real world-class star.”

Rooney idolised Maradona after watching videos of him in action growing up and referred to the enigmatic South American as “the best” when posting an emotional online tribute following news of his death in 2020.

Rooney will always have something to remember Maradona by, as he has retained the tie that was bizarrely gifted to him more than a decade ago. He said: “Yeah, I've still got it at home. It was a strange moment, but I was fuming after the game. I had gone out fuming, had a few glasses of wine to drown my sorrows. I got something good out of the night at least, I got Maradona's tie!”

Real Madrid went on to suffer a Champions League semi-final defeat to Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund that year, while United were crowned Premier League champions - landing that title for the final time as Ferguson headed off into retirement.