Wayne Rooney explains why David Moyes BANNED wife Coleen from Sports Personality of the Year Awards during Everton days

That night, Rooney shared the stage with Manchester United legend George Best, who was honoured with a lifetime achievement award. Also among the winners was former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who won the coach of the year award as he guided the Gunners to a double. 

While Rooney was making headlines as England’s next big thing, controversy quietly brewed behind the scenes. Moyes, his then-manager, barred Rooney’s teenage sweetheart Coleen from joining him at the prestigious ceremony.

"That night was when I won the Young Sports Personality of the Year medal and I had a chewing gum like this," he began during a chat on The Wayne Rooney Show. "I was chewing like that and I had a tie, but I didn't tie it all the way up. And I hated wearing suits, so I got hammered for it in the press. But Coleen was meant to come. She borrowed money off her mum to buy a dress Moyes wouldn't let her come because we were under 18. So it was in London, the award, so yeah, I got a bit of a stiff because I didn't know the etiquette of going to the Sports Personality Awards. I would have gone in a tracksuit if I could."

Fast-forward two decades, and Rooney now credits Coleen with saving his life. The former Manchester United and England captain, now 40, has spoken candidly about his struggles with alcohol, a hidden battle that ran parallel to his glittering professional career. 

"I honestly believe if she weren't there I'd be dead," he told the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast. "I've made mistakes in the past which are well documented and whatever but I'm a little bit different at times and she keeps me on that path and she's done it for 20-odd years. I wanted to go out and enjoy my time with my friends and have a night out. It got to a point where I went too far - that was a moment in my life where I was struggling massively with alcohol.

"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. I just drank for two days straight. Come training and at the weekend, I'd score two goals, and then I'd go back and go and drink for two days straight again. She's helped me control that massively. She's managed me because I needed managing."

Wayne and Coleen’s relationship has been tested like few others in British sport. Married since 2008, their journey has seen public scandals, personal struggles, and immense scrutiny. But through it all, the pair have stayed together.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast three years ago, he admitted: "There could have been times when Coleen could have walked away. But we love each other. I was never an alcoholic. I was more of a binge drinker, where, if I got two days off, I'd literally drink for two days and then dust myself down - eye drops, chewing gum, mouthwash - to go into work and then have to run around a pitch and train. I wasn't giving the best version of me to my club at times. I've spoken to people. It helped. You let your feelings out. I didn't do that - I held them in and then it builds up."

Despite being one of Manchester United’s all-time greats, Rooney grew up an Everton supporter. Coleen, on the other hand, has always worn her Liverpool allegiance proudly. And she’s never missed a chance to remind her husband of it. Rooney recalled a hilarious domestic incident from 2020, when Liverpool finally ended their 30-year wait to win the Premier League under Jurgen Klopp. At the time, Rooney was managing Derby County, focused on his coaching duties, when he came home to a shocking sight.

On The Wayne Rooney Show podcast, the United legend said: "When Liverpool won the Premier League a few years ago, I came home, I was at Derby at the time, and Coleen's got Liverpool flags up outside the house. It was our old house, so outside the front door there's a little balcony thing and the flag was outside the window there, so I told her to go and get it down. She went up and you had to actually climb out the window to get it down, so she went up and I locked her out."

After hanging up his boots in 2021, the former striker has struggled to replicate his on-field success in management. His stints in charge of Derby County, Birmingham City, and Plymouth Argyle all ended in disappointment. Now working as a full-time pundit, Rooney is slowly rebuilding his career away from the dugout and perhaps will not return to the touchline anytime soon.