“Completely Untrue” Wayne Rooney Ready For Legal Fight After Andy Carroll Claim

Wayne Rooney has reportedly taken a serious step towards legal action against former England teammate Andy Carroll after a claim made in Carroll’s upcoming autobiography caused a major row.

The former Manchester United and England captain is said to be unhappy with a passage in Owning It, where Carroll describes alleged drinking and smoking sessions involving Rooney during England international duty around 2010 and 2011.

Rooney has strongly denied the story and described the account as a fabrication. His legal team has reportedly written to the publisher demanding that the disputed claim is withdrawn.

The situation has now turned what was expected to be a book about Carroll’s football career into a public dispute between two former England internationals.

Carroll’s autobiography is due to tell stories from his career, including his time with Newcastle United, Liverpool and the England national team. However, the Rooney section has attracted significant attention before the book’s release.

Wayne Rooney Strongly Denies Andy Carroll’s Story

The claims relate to England camps during the early part of the 2010s, when Rooney was one of the biggest names in the national team.

According to extracts reported from Carroll’s book, Rooney allegedly invited teammates into his hotel room where they would have drinks and cigarettes.

Carroll presented the gatherings as relaxed occasions rather than wild parties. His version suggests they were simply a way for players to pass the time during international duty.

Rooney, however, has completely rejected that account.

In a statement reported by The Sun, the former Manchester United star said that he and Carroll never really socialised and that the story about drinking while on England duty was not true.

Rooney also said he normally does not respond to things he considers false, but felt he needed to address this particular claim because of its nature.

The dispute is particularly interesting because Rooney and Carroll were not especially close during their international careers.

The pair were teammates for England during the early 2010s, but their time together on the pitch was limited.

Image: 2011 Getty Images

Wayne Rooney and Andy Carroll England Specs

The numbers show why this is not a story about two players who spent a huge amount of time together.

Rooney was already an established England star, while Carroll was still developing his international career after making his senior debut in 2010.

Carroll eventually made nine appearances for England and scored twice. Rooney, meanwhile, went on to become one of the most important players in the country’s modern history, finishing with 53 goals before Harry Kane eventually moved past him.

Rooney’s Legal Team Has Reportedly Contacted The Publisher

The disagreement has now moved beyond a simple war of words.

According to reports, Rooney’s legal representatives have sent a strongly worded letter to the publisher behind Carroll’s autobiography. They are reportedly demanding that the disputed section is retracted.

A source quoted in the reports claims Rooney is extremely unhappy with the situation and believes the line has been crossed.

It is important, though, to separate those claims from confirmed legal proceedings. The current reports describe a legal warning and demand for a retraction rather than a completed court case.

Carroll’s side has reportedly reacted with surprise to Rooney’s response and maintains that the former Liverpool striker stands by what he wrote.

That leaves both former England players on very different sides of the same story.

Rooney says the account is false.

Carroll’s reported position is that he has written his recollection of events and does not believe he invented the story.

That difference could become important if the dispute develops into formal legal proceedings.

For anyone following legal sport stories, this is now one of the more unusual football-related disputes involving former England players, particularly because it concerns events that allegedly happened more than a decade ago.

Rooney’s England Career In Numbers

The timing is also notable for Rooney.

The former wayne rooney manchester united star has moved into a new stage of his career since retiring from playing, working in football media and management while continuing to remain a major name in English football.

That means stories about his playing career can still attract huge attention, even many years after the events being discussed.

Carroll’s book is also expected to contain plenty of other stories from his football career, but the dispute with Rooney has quickly become one of the biggest talking points surrounding its release.

For now, the central issue remains a disagreement over Carroll’s recollection of what happened during England duty.

There has been no court ruling establishing either version as fact. Rooney has publicly denied the account, while reports say Carroll remains behind his version.

The next major development could therefore come from the publisher or the legal representatives involved.

If the disputed passage is not withdrawn, the disagreement could potentially move into a much more serious legal stage.

For Rooney, what started as an allegation in a former teammate’s book has already become something he is reportedly prepared to challenge through his lawyers.

And for andy carroll, the controversy has arrived just as his autobiography is preparing to hit the shelves, putting one of his former England teammates at the centre of the book’s biggest story.

Whatever happens next, the dispute has brought fresh attention to the England squad of the early 2010s and the relationships between players who shared the same dressing room but, according to Rooney, were never particularly close.