Wayne Rooney has denied accusations that he helped himself to Nike merchandise while inside a VIP box at Wembley.
The £300,000-a-week Manchester United star was captured on CCTV in May 2014 appearing to rifle through the brand’s merchandise before putting them in a plastic bin bag while inside the hospitality box.
Footage, which was obtained by The Sunday Mirror, shows the 30-year-old athlete laughing as he appears to rummage through the goods, which were on display in a cabinet at the side of the room.
He seemingly laughs as he stacks the items in his arms in front of three others and even appears to tuck a trainer into his waistband at one point.
The clip then allegedly shows the married father-of-three taking a plastic liner from a bin before emptying the contents onto the floor in an apparent bid to fill the bag with the brand’s items.
A source told Dan Warburton at the Sunday paper: ‘People were shocked and bewildered to see Rooney’s behaviour in the footage, to think he’s someone earning in excess of £300,000 each week.
‘It’s clear what Wayne was doing. You can see him debating with friends about which items to take.’
But the footballer took to Facebook to publish a short statement, in which he strenuously denied the claims.
He wrote: ‘Allegations published by the Sunday Mirror that were presented to my management team, Nike and the FA are denied by all, are wrong and total rubbish.
‘The matter is now with my lawyers so can’t say anymore at this time.’
A spokesman for Mr Rooney had also vehemently denied he had taken anything earlier in the day, saying there was ‘no truth’ in the anonymous claims.
They added: ‘They [the claims] are false and defamatory of Wayne Rooney. Wayne Rooney took no items whatsoever from the Nike box.’
A spokesman for Nike also dismissed the allegations, asserting: ‘This story is not true. We can confirm that nothing was taken from the Nike box.’
MailOnline contacted Rooney’s representative for comment and was told they do not wish to add anything further.
The video comes after Mr Rooney was left out of the England squad for Euro 2016 warm-up games against Germany and Holland because he is recovering from a knee injury.
The side will travel to Berlin to face world champions Germany on March 26 before hosting the Dutch at Wembley three days later.
Source : Mirror
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