Wayne Rooney: Man United icon changed studs to hurt Chelsea player in 2006 match | OneFootball

Wayne Rooney: Man United icon changed studs to hurt Chelsea player in 2006 match | OneFootball

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·6 February 2022

Wayne Rooney: Man United icon changed studs to hurt Chelsea player in 2006 match

Article image:Wayne Rooney: Man United icon changed studs to hurt Chelsea player in 2006 match

Wayne Rooney has admitted he ‘wanted to hurt someone’ when Manchester United played Chelsea in April 2006.

The Derby County manager is in the news after interviews with the Mail on Sunday and The Times in which he opened up on the demons he faced during his playing career, including locking himself away to drink.


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“I was always angry and aggressive when I was growing up,” Rooney said. “That was obvious when I came into football.

“It was obvious I had some issues which I had to try and deal with and now, thankfully, I have got them all under control.”

Article image:Wayne Rooney: Man United icon changed studs to hurt Chelsea player in 2006 match

Rooney wanted to hurt Chelsea player

Rooney’s outbursts were pretty common during his United career and in 2006, he travelled to Chelsea for a must-win game with a desire to injury an opponent.

The Blues needed just a point to win the Premier League title and Rooney couldn’t take it.

So he changed his studs, opting for longer ones, and tried to get hurt someone.

“I changed my studs before the game,” Rooney said in upcoming documentary ‘Rooney’, which will be on Amazon Prime next Friday, per the Mirror.

“I put longer studs in because I wanted to hurt someone.”

Article image:Wayne Rooney: Man United icon changed studs to hurt Chelsea player in 2006 match

The 36-year-old added: “If Chelsea won a point, they won the league. At that time, I couldn’t take it.

“The studs were legal, they were a legal size, but they were bigger than what I would normally wear.”

And just seven minutes into the match, Rooney produced a strong challenge on Chelsea’s John Terry that left the centre-back needing help.

Terry was able to continue, and it was actually Rooney who had to leave the game on a stretcher later on.

Article image:Wayne Rooney: Man United icon changed studs to hurt Chelsea player in 2006 match

Rooney’s anger issues

Rooney’s interviews are well worth a read.

It’s interesting to hear him speak about the times he would explode and the eventual realisation that he needed help.

“I used to hold everything in and it would build up. I would deny it but Coleen could see it coming every time,” he said.

“I’d say f*** it and go out and make silly mistakes with the explosion.

“I learned that when I felt it coming, I needed to sit down and talk to someone.

“That calmed things down. I spoke to Coleen quite a few times, her mum and dad and my mum and dad.

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