Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Roy Keane and Jill Scott spoke to Wayne Rooney about the challenges he faced growing up in Merseyside

Wayne Rooney has opened up about his battle with alcoholism and the impact that it had on his playing career. The former Everton striker made his Premier League debut at just 16 in a 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.

Despite his age, Rooney quickly acclimatised to life in the English top flight and he soon became a regular in David Moyes’ starting lineup. The former England international went on to feature 77 times for the Toffees before completing a transfer to Manchester United in August 2004.

He did of course return to Goodison Park following the expiration of his contract at Old Trafford in July 2017 where he eclipsed 100 appearances for Everton. While Rooney will be remembered as one of Europe’s all-time great players, his career could have very easily been derailed when he was caught red-handed with alcohol and cigarettes by a youth coach.Speaking on the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast, the 38-year-old revealed the challenges he faced growing up in Merseyside. Rooney said: “You [Jamie Carragher] know where I grew up. It wasn’t an easy place to live but, I absolutely loved growing up there, it taught me so many different things.”I remember when I was 14, I was crossing the road – I think it was a Thursday or something like that – and I was playing for the Under 19s on the Saturday for Everton, Colin Harvey was the manager.So, I’m crossing the road, I’ve got a bag of cider, a packet of cigarettes, and a car stopped to let me cross, and it was Colin Harvey. We used to go to an abandoned, empty house and we’d knock the windows through, and we’d sit in there and drink.

“When you look back, I think – and I spoke about it when I did the documentary – I had different issues, ended up drinking way too much and obviously that took its toll.

“You can always look back and think – ‘If you didn’t do that, would you have played at an even higher level, achieved more, played for longer’ – all these questions, again, it’s hindsight.”