Wayne Rooney: Boots of Gold

Book excerpt: This book is not your usual whitewash. Irreverent, hilarious and surprising, Wayne Rooney: Boots of Gold is a tarts-and-all biography of England's most famous sportsman and an exposé of the iniquities of some of those who have sought their pound of flesh from his celebrity. Short-tempered and sweary he may be, but there's no doubting Rooney's passion for the beautiful game. But who is the real Wayne Rooney? On the one hand there was the disastrous World Cup in 2010, sex scandals and the unedifying spectacle of his grotesque contract negotiations with Manchester United; on the other, unprecedented success as the best British footballer of his time. On form, he's an unstoppable force, and the jewel in the crown of one of the most powerful club sides in history. But then there's the infamous entourage: a controversial agent, a crooked lawyer, tarts and gangsters, all attracted to the fabulous money Rooney gets for kicking a pig's bladder around a field. Wayne Rooney: Boots of Gold charts the rise and fall - and rise and fall again - of football's most intriguing star.