Coleen Rooney has opened up about the terrifying backlash that has come with being Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney's partner.
The I'm a Celeb fan favourite has shared details of the after-effects of Rooney's decision to leave Merseyside for Manchester in an appearance on The Overlap's Stick to Football podcast.
United completed the signing of the 18-year-old Everton wonderkid in 2004, making him the world's most expensive teenager at £30million.
Sir Alex Ferguson used his charm to beat Newcastle United to Rooney's signature, but the star striker's dream transfer came with its problems.
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The Rooneys started dating when they were 16 - having first met at the age of 12 in Croxteth, Liverpool - and she was by his side throughout the entirety of his iconic football career.
In a new sit-down interview with Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Ian Wright, Roy Keane and Jill Scott, Rooney admitted it was difficult for her husband to leave his home city.
"I don't think it was an issue moving to Manchester. For him, Everton is his club, and he loved it, still does, but Manchester United is a massive club," the 38-year-old explained.
"All he wanted to do was win trophies. He saw players in the past stay with their childhood clubs and not go on to win anything. For him, it was hard, but he stood his ground and wanted to leave."
She also offered details about the scary aftermath of Rooney's decision to move away from Liverpool across the North-West, claiming the ill-feeling went as far as damage to their property.
"Our house got spray painted everywhere, and there were smashed windows in cars," Rooney added.
"We literally took ourselves and moved because Sir Alex Fergusson said that he wanted us out of Liverpool. But it was our families that got the backlash then, and that wasn't fair.
"Wayne [Rooney] never went into Liverpool for a while after that to get food or go shopping because people would just shout stuff.
"It was tough, but it was worth it for him because he went on to win and seize the lead goal scorer. We had some fantastic times there."
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Rooney didn't take long to settle into life in Manchester, finishing the 2004/05 season as United's top scorer with 17 goals, including a debut hat-trick against Fenerbahce.
The legendary No. 10's memorable bow at Old Trafford convinced his wife that, despite the related issues, he was in the right place.
She said: "That [his debut against Fenerbahce] was my first [Manchester United] game that I went to, and I just thought after that game that he [Wayne Rooney] made the right decision here.
"You've come, and you've proved a point straight away that you belong here. It just went from strength to strength after that."
