Home of football statistics and historyWhen your bank account bursts due to the amount of money in it, it’s not a big deal to spend a few thousand, or even hundreds of thousands, to indulge yourself. This issue concerns elite football players, whose salaries amount to millions of Euros per year. They often feel quite relaxed when it comes to placing tremendous bets at casinos. The fans of the Premier League must recall such names as the Stoke City winger Matthew Etherington, Arsenal Playmaker Paul Merson, Arsenal defensive legend Kenny Sansom, Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann, who were caught up in gambling addiction. Though, the guy who deserves the top place on this list is yet to be mentioned.
Wayne Rooney, the Manchester United and England striker, has caught up in scandal since the moment his career started. At the age of 17, he came to the notice of the tabloids after reportedly cheating on his then-girlfriend, Coleen, with a prostitute. He is reported to have paid £140 for sex services and then left a signed photograph as a souvenir. Subsequently he is alleged to have frequented a number of “working girls,” including a 48-year-old lady.
The England star also has a predilection for alcohol, with most of his reckless deeds being accompanied by booze; and gambling is not an exception. Less than a year ago, the 31-year-old then-MU player spent a night at Manchester’s 235 Casino, where he tried his luck on roulette and blackjack. While drinking beer, he was enthusiastically betting on red, and putting long-shot bets on solo numbers, which reportedly resulted in a loss of £500,000.
According to one witness’ statement, Rooney was extremely reckless, placing massive bets. Bottles of beer were next to him during the whole stay at the casino, but he wasn’t drunk, he appeared to be more fascinated by gambling than booze. Wayne Rooney was trying to recoup the losses, which was just leading to even worse results. He seemed to be withdrawn into his own little world, whispering some phrases under his breath. People around him were reportedly shocked by the bets he was placing – on average, the football star was losing £4,000 per minute.
Rooney has also been involved in some other curious gambling events. According to his book “My Story So Far,” we know that his career as a punter started in his second year at Everton, when he was earning good money. He was putting small bets on horse racing, dog racing, or football matches; though having no particular involvement or predilection for it. Nevertheless, after about a year, he found himself void of £50,000, which was “stupid,” according to his own words. Such a loss infuriated Coleen, now his wife, who compelled him to quit gambling. Wayne did abandon betting on games for about a year, but then he was back again.
In 2006, Rooney reportedly faced an FA investigation after it was reported he lost £700,000 in a “secret England dressing room gambling ring.” In 2008, Wayne Rooney lost £65,000 in two hours, at 235 Casino.
Despite the losses, Wayne Rooney had some winning streaks too. One of them was £51,000, which is a rather humble sum, compared with his misfortunes. This money came to Rooney after a stroke of luck in a secret gambling ring. He was supposed to chat with a guy whom he had never seen in person, and even the winnings were reportedly passed on by third parties on the pitch during a training session.
Maybe it would’ve caused fewer problems for Rooney if he had played at online casinos, which are exceedingly popular nowadays and anonymous, so maybe the world would have never heard of his gambling problems. The online gambling market is crawling with casinos that give the same fun as its land-based brothers. Some of them, you can try here
Rooney has ridden out his off-pitch scandals and his gambling losses have been sustained through his obscene salary. Ironically, given his gambling reputation, he was even reportedly offered a £700,000-a-week by China’s Guangzhou Grande to join them in 2016.
It may be that Rooney’s predilection for gambling lies in the past, but equally fresh news may be to come. In any case, the man is far from a role model and his very public troubles probably reflects the tip of the iceberg of what the head of the Sporting Chance charity described as “the largest addiction within football” and “an accepted, tolerated form of relaxation for players condoned by clubs and managers.”
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