'I used to write to him in jail' - Wayne Rooney reveals staggering lengths he went to as Everton fan to tell surprise idol 'how much I love him'

Ferguson first linked up with the Toffees, initially on loan from Glasgow-based giants Rangers, in 1994. He played over 100 times for the club, scoring 42 goals, before moving to Newcastle. The enigmatic frontman returned to Merseyside in 2000 and found the target on 30 occasions through 140 matches before hanging up his boots in 2006.

Rooney had broken through by then, with his senior bow being taken in at the age of 16 in 2002. He got the chance to play alongside Ferguson before becoming the most expensive teenager in world football when Manchester United came calling in 2004 - with the Merseyside native, who won Premier League and Champions League titles at Old Trafford, going on to become the Red Devils’ all-time leading scorer.

Rooney was always a passionate performer on the pitch, with inspiration being taken from Ferguson - who spent time behind bars in 1994 after headbutting an opponent during his spell at Rangers.

Young Rooney overlooked that misdemeanour, telling BBC Sport when asked about his boyhood heroes: "There was a guy who played for Everton and he actually went to jail. And I was a young boy who supports Everton, so I used to write to him in jail and then he’d write back. And then, four years later, I played alongside him. So for me that was the biggest thing. It was just me telling him how much I love him." Rooney added on the other stars that he looked up to: "There’s so many and like Ronaldo, R9, for me as well. Just watching him play was incredible. He was like my favourite player, really."

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Ferguson has previously addressed his surprising communication with Rooney, with the future all-time great an unknown youngster when contact was first made.

In ‘Big Dunc: The Upfront Autobiography by Duncan Ferguson, with Henry Winter’, the Toffees icon said: “What got me through the long, lonely nights in Barlinnie was that I must have received 10,000 letters. Incredible. I killed time reading them all. Fans wishing me well and, yes, some expressing rather different sentiments.

"A young boy called Wayne Rooney wrote. He must have been only nine or 10. I wrote him back, without a clue who this passionate football fan would turn out to become. (Apparently, Wayne still has the letter today.)

"Some people sent me books – books about pigeons, books about football, books about breaking out of prison. They sent me a blow-up sex doll, which got confiscated! But the letters I treasured most were from Evertonians like Wayne.

"Looking back now, I still can’t believe the top brass of Everton – my manager Joe Royle, Club Chairman Peter Johnson and Director Clifford Finch – came to see me. It was really nice of them, brave as well. They came into the waiting room at Barlinnie, and it’s like Beirut in there. A total war zone – people bringing drugs, and misery and menace in the air. Having that support from the high-ups at Everton and the fans meant the world."

Rooney made his own return to Everton in 2017 following a glittering 13-year stint with Manchester United. He spent just one season at Goodison - scoring 11 goals, including one memorable effort from the halfway line against West Ham.

Rooney spent time in management after hanging up his boots, but struggled across spells with Derby, D.C. United, Birmingham and Plymouth. He is now back on punditry duty and preparing to star in a Disney+ documentary series alongside wife Coleen and their four sons - with eldest, Kai, looking to forge his own career as a professional footballer after catching the eye in United’s fabled academy system.