Manchester United and England great Wayne Rooney hopes people will get to see the real him in the new film about his life.
Former team-mates, friends and family joined the 36-year-old in central Manchester on Wednesday for the premiere of the eagerly-anticipated Amazon Prime Video documentary.
Rooney does not hide from the mistakes he has made on and off the pitch in a film that offers a fascinating glimpse into what makes him tick.
“I think certainly over the last 20 years I feel like I’ve been judged, whether fairly, unfairly, for a lot of things I’ve done,” the Derby manager told the PA news agency.
“On the pitch which is good. On the pitch which is bad. Off the pitch, good and bad.
“I think it gives everyone a real insight into me as a person. Sometimes the struggles you have, whether that’s mentally. I’ve been quite open in terms of alcohol as well.
“I think it will give everyone a real insight to see me as a person and hopefully people can really judge me then.”
Rooney recently told PA that he drunk himself into a stupor on days off to numb the issues he was dealing with during his playing days.
“Before I did this, I had to really think carefully if I wanted to do it or not,” he said, having arrived with wife Coleen on the blue carpet.
“I knew if I was doing it, there’s no point me doing it and not speaking about difficult situations because that’s part of life.
“That’s part of the last 20 years which I’ve been involved in and I think it’s a good time to do it because obviously I’ve gone into that next step with my life.
“We’ve got four children, I’ve gone into management, things are good.
“A time now to almost try and put that all that behind me and move on with my life as a family but also my life as a manager.”
