Wayne Rooney apologises to family & club over leaked party photos; says 'I made a mistake'

Manchester United's former striker and the current Derby manager Wayne Rooney was caught off-guard after photos of him at a private party surfaced online. The leaked images showcase the Derby manager asleep in a hotel room surrounded by a group of young women. The star footballer was celebrating his friend's birthday in Manchester. Rooney's photo from the party first surfaced on Snapchat and then it went viral on Twitter. Following which the former Manchester United striker had to face some mixed reactions from the fans on social media.  According to The Sun, Snapchat models were invited to Rooney's room as they were surprised to see him.

Wayne Rooney's apology to his family 

The 35-year-old, Rooney spoke to Sky Sports on Wednesday night following second-division Derby's 1-0 victory over Spanish team Real Betis in a preseason friendly.

"I made a mistake. I went to a private party with two of my friends and, from me, I’d like to apologize to my family and the club for the images which were going round and I want to move forward on this. I'm grateful to Derby County for giving me this opportunity to get this club back to where it belongs, and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure I do that,” said Rooney.

The images circulated on Sunday on social media. On Tuesday, Cheshire Police confirmed they dropped a complaint of blackmail made concerning the photos.

Asked if he felt the victim, he added: "Yes, but I don't really want to go into that. Listen, it's dealt with and I'm looking forward to moving forward and preparing for another game on Sunday."

Netizens react to Wayne Rooney's leaked images 

With a player shortage, Rooney had been joining in training sessions. Last week, he went into a 50-50 challenge with promising young midfielder Jason Knight and the Ireland international came out of it with an injured ankle. The 20-year-old Knight is expected to be sidelined for at least two months.

“With Jason, it was a training ground incident, which happens,” Rooney told Sky. “I demand that the players train with a lot of intensity. Players get injured on the training pitch, unfortunately, Jason did, and I'm looking forward to having him back fit and ready for selection. That’s football.”

The Rams narrowly avoided relegation in May and open the Championship season on Aug. 7 against Huddersfield.
Rooney, the record scorer for England and Manchester United, took over at Derby first on an interim basis as player-coach and then permanently in January upon his retirement.

(With Inputs: AP)

(Image Credits: AP/@Brad_Bibby/99/Twitter)