Wayne Rooney has opened up on how he used alcohol to cope with challenges in the early part of his playing career.

The former England captain enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom as a young player after making his professional debut for Everton in the Premier League at just 16.

Rooney, who was appointed manager of Championship side Birmingham City last month, says he used alcohol as a “release” from the pressure he had to cope with at such a young age.

“I’ve had many different challenges, both on the pitch and off the pitch, and my release was alcohol,” he told the Seven: Rob Burrow podcast.

“When I was in my early 20s, I’d spend a couple of days at home and wouldn’t move out of the house and drink almost until I passed out.

“I didn’t want to be around people because sometimes you feel embarrassed and sometimes you feel like you’ve let people down. Ultimately, I didn’t know how else to deal with it so I chose alcohol to try and help me get through that.”

Rooney, now 38, admits he avoided speaking to people about his difficulties and often found himself in a “low place” as a result.

“There are so many people to speak to now over these issues,” he said. “There were people there for me to speak to but I chose not to do that and tried to deal with it myself. When you do that and don’t take the help and guidance of others, you can really be in a low place and I was for a few years with that.”

It is a different type of struggle, a different type of pressure. One that I struggled at first to deal with.

“Thankfully now I am not afraid to go and speak to people over some issues which I may have.

“Of course you will have them in your professional life and your personal life. It’s so important you speak out to people and take their help and guidance when needed.”

Rooney’s Birmingham – 15th in the Championship table – lost to Sunderland 1-3 on Saturday.

• The Athletic report
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