Wayne Rooney is part of the BBC’s World Cup team and will appear on their broadcast of the England vs Argentina semi-final clash

Wayne Rooney will be part of the BBC’s World Cup coverage of England vs Argentina. And there are not many more suitable than England’s second all-time goalscorer to run the rule over Harry Kane and co.

The former Manchester United forward has been a regular for the broadcasters in the United States as he settles into life post-football. Rooney enjoyed a headline-grabbing career on and off the pitch, featuring in three World Cups.

He became a United hero and also had stints at Everton, DC United and Derby County. However, Rooney grabbed media attention away from the pitch thanks to cheating scandals and trouble with American police.

Get MEN Premium now for just £1 HERE – or get involved in our United WhatsApp group by clicking HERE. You can also join our United Facebook page by clicking HERE and don’t miss out on our brilliant selection of newsletters HERE.

Here, Manchester Evening News examines some major moments from Rooney’s life away from the pitch.

Cheating scandals

Advertisement

Wayne has been married to wife Coleen since 2008 but the pair have been rocked with numerous cheating allegations. In 2004, the ex-United star was reported to have visited a brothel in Liverpool on several occasions and paid for sex with three women aged 21, 37 and 48.

It was claimed that Rooney also signed autographs for other visitors as he waited his turn. Speaking out about the allegations, he said: “Foolish as it now seems, I did on occasions visit massage parlours and prostitutes.

“I now regret it deeply and hope people may understand that it was the sort of mistake you make when you are young and stupid.”

Coleen didn’t make a comment on the situation at the time, but revealed in her 2023 autobiography that the pair hadn’t been intimate before his brothel visits. She wrote: “The truth is, and I’ve never said this before, at that time in our relationship, I’d never even slept with Wayne. I was only 16 and we weren’t having that kind of relationship at that stage.”

Six years later, Rooney was accused of further infedility when former escort Helen Wood claimed he had a threesome with her and another woman called Jenny Thompson. Wood insisted the incident occurred while Coleen was pregnant with their first son, Kai, and he regretted the affair immediately.

She said: “He said, ‘I feel really s*** already – I’m begging you two not to say anything. It will ruin my marriage if it gets out.’”

There were reports that Coleen moved out of their family home at that time but later reconciled, despite the pair never speaking out on the issue.

Advertisement

In 2017, just after he departed United, Rooney made headlines when he was arrested and charged with drink driving after a night out. The ex-England international wasn’t driving his own car, however; it actually belonged to Laura Simpson, whom he had met while out drinking.

Simpson claimed that Coleen called her after the arrest, telling The Sun: “She asked me to tell her what happened. She seemed unhappy with the fact that we had left a nightclub in a cab together to go to my car.”

Six years later, in Wayne’s 2023 documentary, the 40-year-old revealed that this scandal almost pushed the couple to the breaking point. Coleen said: “I forgive him but it wasn’t acceptable. If it comes up we talk about it like we are talking about it now. I haven’t got the anger I did at the time… Life goes on and I’ve moved on.”

Arrest at US airport

Rooney moved to Washington, D.C. in 2018 and signed for DC United after a year back at his boyhood club, Everton. Months after sealing the MLS deal, he was arrested for ‘public swearing and intoxication’ at Dulles airport after triggering a door alarm.

He paid a total fine of $116 (£86), and Rooney’s spokesperson claimed he was “disoriented” after being prescribed sleeping tablets and drinking alcohol. The statement read: “During the flight, Wayne took a prescribed amount of sleeping tablets mixed with some alcohol consumption and consequently was disoriented on arrival.

“He was approached by police who arrested him on a minor misdemeanour charge. He received a statutory automatic fine and was released shortly afterwards at the airport. The matter is now at an end. Wayne would like to put on record his appreciation for the manner he was treated by all involved. No further comment will be made.”

Huge BBC salary

While Rooney was commanding a whopping £300,000-a-week wage during his prime at United, his BBC salary is nothing to be sniffed at. In 2025, the ex-United man signed a two-year deal with the broadcaster which is worth a reported £800,000.

This contract established Rooney as one of the BBC’s most well-paid pundits. His current salary will be a pleasant boost to the ex-forward’s wealth, which is valued at an eye-watering £126m.

England’s 2026 World Cup kits

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

Various Prices

Kitbag

Buy Now on Kitbag

England and Nike have launched the new home, away and goalkeeper kits to be worn at this summer’s FIFA World Cup. You can get free delivery on all orders with the code DEAL.

Advertisement

These college football coaches could find themselves in hot water in 2026

Advertisement

Jul 15, 2026

at

10:03 am ET

•

4 min read

To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.

Accept


Manage my choices

One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.

Try again

From the show

World Cup Debrief

Reading time
1 min

It was France’s biggest hurdle at the World Cup – a team they haven’t beaten since 2017. For Les Bleus, that streak continues as Spain outclassed Didier Deschamps’ side with a 2-0 win in Dallas. The 2010 champions will now get a chance to add a second star to their shirt, as they’ll face either England or Argentina who are going head-to-head this Wednesday for a spot in the final.

Former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick is over two years removed from last serving in the NFL as a head coach, but as was the case in the latter part of his career, he remains viewed as being the greatest coach of all time.

According to CBS Sports’ Bryan DeArdo in the network’s ranking of the top 20 head coaches in NFL history, Belichick ranks No. 1 overall above all of the other greats to do it. In a panel of six voters, there were four who agreed that Belichick deserved the top spot in the rankings.

Advertisement

“The most successful coach of the 21st century, Belichick, has two more Super Bowl wins than the next-closest coach,” DeArdo said. “He is second all-time in career wins (333) and third all-time in regular-season wins (302).”

Belichick ended his career with six Super Bowl wins as a head coach, as well as three AP NFL Coach of the Year awards.

He coached innumerable NFL greats throughout his historic career, which also included a tenure with the Cleveland Browns, and his development of Tom Brady, widely regarded as the greatest player ever, adds to his body of work as the standard-setting head coach in league history.

Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Where did Bill Belichick land in latest all-time NFL coach rankings?

The heavyweight division has been blown wide open recently, and in response one former ruler who defeated Anthony Joshua is hoping that he can get back into contention for the heavyweight throne, with his comeback fight officially confirmed.

The WBA, WBC and IBF world titles were in the possession of Oleksandr Usyk until last month, but an underwhelming performance against kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven seemed to convince the Ukrainian that Father Time may have caught up with him.

As a result, the 39-year-old has decided to drop the belts, but to remain in the sport for now, with Murat Gassiev (WBA) and Agit Kabayel (WBC) each being elevated to full world champions in his place, whilst a fight for the vacant IBF strap has been ordered.

Consequently, there are a number of heavyweights who believe that they would be able to topple one of the newly crowned champions, including another former unified titleholder, Andy Ruiz Jr, who famously dethroned Joshua in 2019.

Ruiz stepped in on short notice to face Joshua at Madison Square Garden in New York, and despite being viewed as a big underdog, was able to land multiple knockdowns and secure the shock seventh round stoppage win.

His reign was short-lived after losing those belts to Joshua in the immediate rematch six months later, and since then he has only competed on three occasions, defeating Chris Arreola and Luis Ortiz before a draw with Jarrell Miller in August 2024.

He is now set to get his career back on track after signing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and on his Instagram account, ‘The Destroyer’ outlined that his ‘mission is not over’.

“I’m coming, no matter what anyone says, the mission is not over.”

His first fight under Hearn has been announced, as he headlines a New Jersey card against Poland’s Damian Knyba, who notably lost out to Agit Kabayel at the beginning of the year.

The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 4, with middleweight duo Vito Mielnicki and Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams poised to collide in an intriguing co-main event.

Gautam Gambhir (L) and Rohit Sharma© AFP

Over 10 million sign petition to kick Argentina out of FIFA World Cup

Over ten million people have signed an online petition at argentinaout.org demanding Argentina be expelled from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, accusing FIFA and match officials of favouring Lionel Messi and the defending champions. The petition, hosted on argentinaout.com, gained massive attention after Argentina’s dramatic comeback win over Egypt in the Round of 16.The petition claims Argentina have received favourable decisions throughout the tournament. “Argentina Out is a fan-led campaign calling for Argentina to be removed from the 2026 World Cup,” it read. “Sign the Kick Out Argentina petition to demand consistent rules, transparent officiating, and fair competition for every nation. Add your voice and help make the call to kick out Argentina impossible to ignore.”The controversy intensified after Argentina overturned a 2-0 deficit to beat Egypt, scoring three goals in the final 13 minutes despite Messi missing an earlier penalty. Egypt were furious after one of their goals was ruled out following a VAR review, while Argentina’s late winner stood despite claims of a foul on Mohamed Salah in the build-up.Egypt manager Hossam Hassan did not hold back after the match, saying: “I’ll say what I think, regardless of the consequences. This has clearly been rigged, and everyone has seen it. If they want them to win so badly, why are they inviting everyone to participate in the World Cup?” He added: “Fifa promotes ‘Fair Play’, but we didn’t see it on the pitch … without those mistakes, the result would’ve been different.”

Head coach Scaloni rejects favouritism claims

Ahead of Argentina’s quarter-final, manager Lionel Scaloni dismissed the allegations, insisting modern technology makes referee bias almost impossible. “In 1986, they also said Argentina was getting unfair advantages. This is nothing new for us,” he said.Scaloni added, “There are people who don’t like to see Argentina win. These comments only inspire my team to play better football.”Explaining his point, he said, “With VAR and all the technology we have today, it’s extremely difficult to help anyone. There is no room for different interpretations… today, it’s next to impossible.” Argentina are now preparing to face England in the World Cup semi-finals.

FIFA has been told it would have been “wasting the moment” if it had not extended the World Cup final interval on Sunday to stage a half-time show, according to a top global events boss.

The organisation has confirmed the 11-minute performance, featuring artists such as Madonna, Shakira, and Justin Bieber, will take place at MetLife Stadium.

However, reports suggest this show will cause the gap between the first and second halves to significantly exceed the 15 minutes stipulated by the sport’s laws.

Some observers have criticised the move, but Michael Gietzen, the chief executive officer of Identity, said: “FIFA is right to extend half-time and the people complaining are missing the point.

“Football has its own rhythm and its own rules and of course that matters. But a World Cup final isn’t ‘most of the time’.

“It happens once every four years, in front of the biggest audience any single sporting event can pull. Treating it like a normal weekend fixture is the mistake, not the half-time show.

“A good half-time show isn’t a distraction from the football. It’s part of the reason people remember exactly where they were when they watched it.

“A few extra minutes to get that right isn’t a compromise, it’s FIFA recognising that the final is a cultural event as much as a sporting one.

“Purists may call that a dilution. I’d call it FIFA catching up to what a decent proportion of audiences have wanted for years. A final like this comes round once every four years. Play it safe and you waste the moment.”

ITV has said it will broadcast the half-time show in full, while it is understood the BBC will confirm its plans in due course.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has described the performance as a “groundbreaking spectacle” that will “celebrate football, music and our shared values, ensuring a legacy that transcends the final whistle”.

It was also announced that Hollywood actor Tom Cruise, popstar Robbie Williams and US singer Jennifer Hudson will perform during the closing ceremony.

The event will take place 90 minutes before kick-off and will also feature performances from Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, Italian singer-songwriter Laura Pausini and streamer IShowSpeed – with Hudson set to deliver a rendition of the US national anthem.