Wayne Rooney has hit out at The S*n for fuelling rumours about his marriage to Coleen by publishing a "completely untrue" story about him.
The paper, which is boycotted across Merseyside over to its coverage of the Hillsborough disaster , published photos appearing to show Rooney with a "mystery woman" at a hotel in Vancouver.
Since the photos were first shared online, a number of media outlets have published marriage rumours about the Rooneys supposedly sparked by the images.
In a frank and outspoken statement, former Everton FC forward Rooney, from Croxteth, said: "The S*n this week ran a front-page story making it look like I took a girl back to my team hotel. They know that it's not true and that I did not.
"They are using mine and my family's name to sell papers.
"Nothing happened between me and any girl on that night in Vancouver. I did not enter the lift alone with the girl pictured in the hotel foyer.
"The girl pictured in the club was simply one of many who innocently asked for autographs and pictures.
"The photographs published by The S*n were taken by a freelance photographer who followed me and teammates to take long-range shots, without our knowledge or permission.
"The pictures sold to the newspaper were selected and edited to create a sensational and completely untrue story about me.
"This whole story was a smear against me. It is damaging to my family and not something I am prepared to put up with."
The DC United star has a controversial history with the newspaper, having sold his story to the tabloid following his starring role at Euro 2004.
Wayne and Coleen have been married for 11 years and have four sons together - Kai, nine, Klay, six, Kit, three, and 19-month-old Cass Mac.
It's not the first time the couple have found themselves at the centre of a media storm over marriage rumours, with Rooney admitting drink diving in another woman’s car while Coleen was pregnant with Cass Mac .
In the aftermath of the incident, in 2017 Coleen shared an emotionally charged statement on social media saying she was determined to make their marriage work.
Speaking to fans online, she wrote: “I’m not saying everything is fine and forgotten about, but we are as good as can be at this point, I’m not the type of person to put a show on and say we’re all loved-up - I’m just real.”
The mum-of-four also said Wayne was a “brilliant dad” despite the “silly and selfish mistakes” he had made in the past.
