Rooney faces court action

That headache relates to two separate court actions that could be heard over the course of this season.

The first is the hangover of his and his wife Coleen's previous, successful defence against a £4m claim from his former agent, Proactive. Although the Rooneys won that case, the United forward still owes Proactive for unpaid invoices for services rendered until the autumn of 2008, the subject of a hearing some time next spring. Proactive will claim a seven-figure sum but the Rooney camp is highly confident the judge's indications are that he will have to pay no more than £100,000.