He's at the right club

[Michael]

http://www.sportinglife.com/football/premi...MHD=premiership

[stressederic]

The true personification of Gamblor

[Spike]

he'll have to go without food and grannies for a couple of months to sort that s*** out

[XXX]

Fantastic. Self-responsible and down-to-earth.

 

A role model for the youth.

[Ostrich Man]

in relative terms he's probably in a lot less debt than most of us....difference is he can pay it back more readily.

 

A role model for the youth.

[Ombudsam]

Why does the world need to know or care if he gambles. Load of crock

[Ostrich Man]

cause it sells papers.

[fyds]

Sayers have just gone into liquidation.

[Cunny]

http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/ma...ticle356848.ece

 

'The media want to examine Wayne's life'

By Sam Wallace

Published: 10 April 2006

 

Wayne Rooney's gambling debts have threatened a dispute that goes right to the heart of the England team after it emerged yesterday that he could face a legal battle with a business associate of Michael Owen who has been blamed for allowing the striker to run up huge losses.

 

The disclosure that the Manchester United forward owes £700,000 to Stephen Smith, who manages Owen's property portfolio, has been queried by sources close to the striker although what is not in doubt is that the 20-year-old has run up daunting debts betting with Smith. Rooney's advisers are now attempting to establish how much money their client owes Smith and there have already been meetings between lawyers from both sides.

 

After yesterday's victory over Arsenal, Rooney was asked whether gambling debts had ever affected his performances. He said: "Look at them. You can answer that yourself."

 

The relationship between Owen and Rooney, who will lead England's attack in Germany next summer, is at the centre of the dispute and although they are understood not to have fallen out over the debts, there is disquiet at the way in which Rooney has been treated by his more senior colleague. Owen, a keen racehorse breeder, introduced Smith to his England team-mates - he has become the team's unofficial bookmaker - which has infuriated those closest to Rooney.

 

Despite his importance to the team, Rooney remains one of the youngest members of a squad who is known for being especially generous with the part of his £60,000-a-week salary that is not invested for his future. While betting is a popular pastime for the England squad, there is alarm at how easily Rooney was allowed to spend thousands of pounds betting on horses, greyhounds and football matches in which he was not involved.

 

While players are banned from betting on games in which they play, the England team and officials will have to sign a pledge before the World Cup finals that they will not gamble on any match in the tournament. The Football Association can do nothing to prevent players gambling in their own time but Sven Goran Eriksson will speak to Rooney and Owen ahead of the tournament to make sure there are no problems between them.

 

The most immediate question is the size of the debt which Rooney's side is trying to establish. He has told his agent, Paul Stretford, that the debts were run up in the six months to Christmas but he only disclosed them to his advisers around two months ago when Smith became more insistent that he pay up.

 

Stretford's Proactive company has asked to see records of its client's bets and the odds that were on offer. However, it is understood that the bets were taken on such an informal basis, mainly over the telephone and by text message, that there are few records of Rooney's betting, much less the odds he was offered. A spokesman for Proactive refused to comment.

 

There are also doubts over whether Smith was licensed to take bets, although he has retrospectively applied for one. Sir Alex Ferguson and United officials have been made aware of the situation and Ferguson dismissed the reports as "absolute rubbish".

 

"We have a media who want to examine every part of his life. We had it with George Best, Paul Gascoigne and David Beckham - they will search for something for headlines."

[cymrococh]

Can't believe they're trying to blame it on others, he's hardly an innocent little kid.

[Boca]

Can't believe they're trying to blame it on others, he's hardly an innocent little kid.

 

It's a joke that his "advisors" are saying someone should have stopped him from gambling. Now that the debt has gotten large Rooney reverts to the stereotypical premiership footballer who thinks he can away with anything and refuses to pay. f***ing pathetic.

[Stevie H]

It's a joke that his "advisors" are saying someone should have stopped him from gambling. Now that the debt has gotten large Rooney reverts to the stereotypical premiership footballer who thinks he can away with anything and refuses to pay. f***ing pathetic.

 

the bookie should send round a couple of henchmen to break rooney's legs. that'd learn him.

[Boca]

the bookie should send round a couple of henchmen to break rooney's legs. that'd learn him.

 

But Rooney could escape in his Bentley...... except he lost it in a poker game to his team mate Bardsley

[John am Rhein]

Scum

 

And well done to Owen for getting him into debt.

 

the bookie should send round a couple of henchmen to break rooney's legs. that'd learn him.

 

With the leg breaking fees added to the principal

[smithdown]

It's a joke that his "advisors" are saying someone should have stopped him from gambling. Now that the debt has gotten large Rooney reverts to the stereotypical premiership footballer who thinks he can away with anything and refuses to pay. f***ing pathetic.

 

 

Its always the same with him, blaming everyone else when he sold his story to the s*n and pocketed hundreds of thousands of pounds.

 

The poor little lad must have a great big pile of s**t for brains or something. EIther that or he is an out and out gobsh*te.

[Miracle@Istanbul]

He will come to a deal where he pays about £500k of the debt, all gambaling debts are honour bets so it is difficult to persue through the courts. There seems to be little documented evidence to support the bets, ie no betting slips as bets placed over the phone and by text message and no record of the odds offered.

 

Fair play to the private bookie though, footballers have a lot of cash if they could pick winners he could lose a lot of cash quickly if he did not lay the whole bet. Mind you with Rooney Im sure bookies would be fighting each other for his buisness.

[Scally the Wag]

Reading about this, I have the rather dark feeling that his is not the only case - just the most attractive from a news point of view. Sincerely hope our own highly paid young men can handle themselves better.

[cymrococh]

There was a great quote from the bookie along the lines of "...individual accounts with us are confidential information. John Terry does not owe the company any money."

[Figaro]

it seems to be all Owen's fault

[Ostrich Man]

diving welsh midget scum

[NWR]

diving welsh midget scum

 

[realtarragona]

They get the manager effectively sacked and now they turn on arguably England's best player, in the run up to the World Cup.

 

Gotta love our press, one of a kind.

[cymrococh]

They get the manager effectively sacked and now they turn on arguably England's best player, in the run up to the World Cup.

 

Gotta love our press, one of a kind.

Maybe, just maybe, he shouldn't have got £700k in debt.

[RP]

its 14 weeks wages paul....must peoples mortgages are bigger than that.

 

he can afford it

 

 

Most people's mortgages are secured by property, that's pretty much how mortgages work.

 

 

Assuming an average annual salary of say £25,000, that equates to an unsecured gambling debt of nearly £7,000 for the average man. Personally I wouldn't suggest that would be palatable to most 'normal' people, I don't care how 'rich' he is.

 

And if it's not a problem and he can afford it, why hasn't he paid it back??

[Boca]

Most people's mortgages are secured by property, that's pretty much how mortgages work.

Assuming an average annual salary of say £25,000, that equates to an unsecured gambling debt of nearly £7,000 for the average man. Personally I wouldn't suggest that would be palatable to most 'normal' people, I don't care how 'rich' he is.

 

And if it's not a problem and he can afford it, why hasn't he paid it back??

 

That's exactly what I was thinking. Any person, even if they were a serious gambler, would be s***ting themselves if they had a debt in proportion to Rooneys.