'Jamie Vardy is the right fight for Wayne Rooney' - Former world champion boxer Amir Khan tips Man Utd legend to make move into combat sport

Khan, 37, has suggested that former Manchester United forward Rooney should take on Leicester City strike Vardy - if he does choose to enter the sport of boxing. According to The Mirror, Rooney was approached by boxing promotion company Misfits last month, to discuss the possibility of the England legend fighting on one of their cards.

"Jamie Vardy is the right fight for Wayne Rooney, that's a very good even fight," Khan told Gambling Zone. "They've got the spat their wives have had, what a fight that would make, it would sell well. They're both around the same level as well. They're both novices. I'd back Wayne though because Wayne's more streetwise, he's more solid.

"You don't want to put him in the ring with someone that could hurt him, or outbox and make him look stupid, it should just be someone for a bit of fun as some like Wayne Rooney could get really hurt. He's not really a boxer, so if he got in the deep end too quickly, it could knock his confidence and he could get hurt."

The former Birmingham City and Derby County boss was a member of an amateur boxing club in Liverpool as a child and therefore has some experience in the sport. The link to a possible dispute with his former England teammate Vardy arrives after both of their wives were embroiled in a court case regarding Rebekah Vardy leaking information to the press about Wayne's wife, Coleen. Following the dispute in court back in 2022, Vardy was ordered to pay a substantial proportion of Rooney's legal fees after the statements were deemed to be true.

If Rooney was to accept an offer to fight in a Misfits event, Khan has offered to train the United legend for his bout. "I'd love to train and help Wayne Rooney," he added.

"Sportsmen have a lot of respect for one another, because they've been there and done it, so they'd listen to you more than a normal trainer. When you train with another athlete it's going to push you and you're going to train hard."