Wayne Rooney Takes Legal Action Over Andy Carroll’s Autobiography Claims

Wayne Rooney has instructed lawyers over claims in Andy Carroll’s upcoming autobiography, setting up a potential legal showdown between the former England team-mates.

The 40-year-old ex-England captain has sent a formal legal letter to the publishers of Carroll’s book, Owning It, after being accused of organising drinking sessions in his hotel room while on international duty around 2010-2011.

Carroll alleges that Rooney, then the talisman of the Three Lions and a Manchester United icon, invited players to his room to drink during England training camps. Rooney’s camp insist the account is false and want the passage removed before publication.

One source close to Rooney described his mood as furious and made clear he is ready to push this as far as necessary. The legal letter is understood to be strongly worded, demanding a retraction of the claims, which Rooney views as a direct attack on his character at a time when he is trying to reshape his public image.

“He knows he’s no angel,” the insider said, “but this has crossed the line. It’s a matter of principle.”

Carroll, the former Newcastle and Liverpool striker, now finds himself under intense pressure. The same source suggested he has been rattled by the scale of Rooney’s response and the prospect of a costly court battle if he refuses to back down. A public apology is being discussed as one possible way out, with the alternative being a full legal fight.

The timing could hardly be more sensitive. Rooney is deep into a major rebrand of his post-playing career. Since retiring in 2018, he has moved from the dugout back into the spotlight as a pundit on BBC’s Match of the Day, while also signing up to front a podcast and a gameshow.

He is in advanced talks to join ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here, with a personal target of at least matching wife Coleen’s runner-up finish on the show last year. On top of that, The Real Rooneys, a new Disney+ series documenting their family life, is released on Thursday — the very same day Carroll’s book hits the shelves.

Rooney’s camp view that clash as more than coincidence in terms of impact, if not intention. They are keen to stress that he has shed weight, cut out drinking and left his off-field controversies behind him. The suggestion that he led boozy gatherings on England duty cuts directly against the image he is now trying to project.

For Carroll, Owning It was supposed to be a chance to tell his story and re-enter the public conversation. Instead, unless something gives, it may drag him into a courtroom opposite one of English football’s most scrutinised figures — at the precise moment Rooney is trying to prove his latest reinvention is real and permanent.