Wayne Rooney has revealed he believes he “would be dead” if not for his wife, Coleen, helping him manage his drinking issues.

Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, the 39-year-old recalled: “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.”

He credited Coleen, saying: “She helped me control that massively and managed me because I needed managing. I honestly believe, if she weren’t there, I’d be dead.”

Rooney said Coleen spotted his tendencies early: “When I was 17, she could see, she knew my mind and she knew I was a bit out there… She’s seen it very early on and she’s controlled that. Well, not controlled, but helped me control that massively.”

He also admitted trying to hide drinking from Sir Alex Ferguson by chewing gum and using eye drops.

The couple, married since 2008 and parents of four, have weathered public scandals, including Rooney’s arrests for drink-driving in 2017 and “public intoxication” in the US a year later.

Now, after leaving Plymouth Argyle, Rooney runs a BBC podcast and appears as a Match of the Day pundit.