Wayne Rooney has revealed that he was once given a neck tie in a Manchester restaurant by Argentine football legend Diego Maradona – after arriving at the hot-spot ‘fuming’ with Sir Alex Ferguson.
The former Manchester United star was recounting his favourite grounds to play at on the latest episode of The Wayne Rooney Show, and named Real Madrid’s Bernabeu as his number one, going on to accompany his choice with a memorable recollection of playing there.
‘We got a good result,’ Rooney said as he recalled the Red Devils’ round-of-16 match against the Spaniards in 2013. ‘Danny Welbeck scored a header, I crossed it in for a corner, Welbeck scored and we drew the game 1-1.’
But despite a strong showing on the road, United’s legendary boss Ferguson was unwilling to extend the same role to Rooney in the return fixture.
‘He left me on the bench for the return leg. Alex Ferguson pulled me in and told me I was going to be on the bench, which I was fuming with, because I played out of position, I did a job for the team, helped us get a good draw away from home, and we got beat (2-1 on the night).’
More memorably however was what happened in the aftermath, with Rooney stunning his co-hosts with details about his subsequent trip to Premier League footballer favourite, Chinese restaurant Wing’s.
‘It was that evening actually – I went to Wing’s restaurant in my tracksuit, and Maradona was in there,’ Rooney said. ‘I got a picture with him and stuff.
‘He had a full suit on, and tie, and then he gave me his tie. It was a bit weird, he took his tie off, put it on me, my club tracksuit still on.’
Maradona had been at Old Trafford that evening, but had likely been a regular visitor to the city at the time due to his daughter Giannina being married to Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero.
The Napoli icon had previously hailed Rooney at the start of his career, sharing 10 years before their meeting that he was a ‘special talent that the English should cherish’.
‘They don’t come along that often, players who can go on and become real world-class stars,’ Maradona added prophetically, after watching a 17-year-old Rooney make his international debut at a Euro 2004 qualifier against Macedonia.
Rooney in turn idolised the World Cup winner, calling him ‘the best’ in a poignant tribute to him after his death in 2020.
‘Yeah, I’ve still got it at home,’ Rooney said of the tie. ‘It was a strange moment, but I was fuming after the game.
‘I had gone out fuming, had a few glasses of wine to drown my sorrows. (So) I got something good out of the night at least, I got Maradona’s tie.’
