Inside Wayne Rooney’s showdown with Derby bosses who ‘very clearly told him what they thought’ as he KEEPS job
WAYNE Rooney had a showdown with Derby bosses after his party girl shame but will still keep his £4.5million job.
The ex-England ace, 35, was said to have been given a dressing down by top brass over his drunken antics at the weekend.
But Rooney will stay in his £90,000-a-week job and take the helm tonight as the Rams play Real Betis in a friendly at Pride Park.
SunSport understands he was left in no doubt about the standards he is expected to set as the club’s manager and high-profile figurehead.
The former Man Utd star was also told Derby will “not stand” for his behaviour following his drinking session at the weekend, talkSport reported.
Host Jim White said: “There’s a lot of disquiet around Derby County and unwanted publicity and he was splashed all over the front page of the newspapers.
“Rooney met with the Derby hierarchy yesterday and Derby made very clear to him what they thought about what went on over the weekend.
“Derby will quite simply not stand for it but he will carry on. That is the news given to me. He will carry on.
“Rooney was told in no uncertain terms what they thought of the publicity and what went on.”
Derby’s top brass had imposed a zero-tolerance policy to restore the Rams’ battered public image after star players Tom Lawrence and Mason Bennett were convicted over a drink-drive smash in 2018.
But there was no appetite to axe Rooney and risk a potential lengthy legal battle over whether he broke any of the terms of his contract.
‘BLOWN AWAY’
Rooney joined the Rams as a player coach in 2020 as part of a big money deal footed by web casino 32Red.
He officially hung up his boots in January to become full-time boss and signed a deal until summer 2023.
He said at the time he was “completely blown away” by the team’s potential, adding: “Despite other offers I knew instinctively Derby County was the place for me.”
But his job hasn’t been easy – with the EFL slapping an embargo on them signing players after they broke financial rules.
Read our Wayne Rooney live blog for the very latest updates
To add to Rooney’s problems, he injured 20-year-old midfielder Jason Knight during training as the boozy shame swirled around him.
The team appeared to stand by the gaffer after the photos emerged and revealed Rooney had told them they were “taken without his knowledge or approval”.
But Cheshire Police yesterday confirmed they had dropped a blackmail probe after Rooney made a complaint.
Rooney’s night on the lash came after Derby’s 2-1 defeat to League Two outfit Salford City in a pre-season friendly on Saturday.
‘MOONEY ROONEY’
He was pictured sleeping while in a hotel with Snapchat model Tayler Ryan and her pals Elise Melvin and Brooke Morgan.
The photos were then leaked and went viral.
In one picture captioned ‘Mooney Rooney’, a woman in a g-string is seen displaying her bum to the camera.
Another image, entitled ‘Sleepy Wayne’, shows a woman making a peace sign next to the ex-England captain.
A scantily dressed woman is laying on a bed close to ex-Manchester United legend Rooney, who is fast asleep in his clothes.
And another snap appears to show the football boss talking to a blonde woman in a nightclub.
Most read in Sport
The photos are the latest in a long list of drunken scandals to rock the pair’s 13-year marriage.
In 2017, he was driving Laura Simpson home when he was nicked for drink-driving at 2am after a ten-hour booze session.
Two years later, the then-DC United player was arrested for being drunk in public when he set off a security door alarm at a US airport after a booze and sleeping pill mix left him “disoriented”.