"If it wasn't for my wife, I'd be dead already." - Wayne Rooney opens up about his battle with alcoholism

Wayne Rooney could have lost his life to alcohol problems, but his wife saved him.

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Details: In an interview for the podcast Rio Ferdinand Presents, 39-year-old former Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney shared how his wife helped him overcome alcoholism.

"I truly believe that if she hadn't been there, I'd be dead by now. In the past, I've made mistakes that are well documented, but sometimes I'm a little different from others, and she's been guiding me down the right path for over 20 years.

I just wanted to go out and have a good time with my friends, spend an evening away from home. It got to the point where I went too far — at that moment, my alcohol problems were really serious.

I didn't think I could talk to anyone. I didn't even want to, because I didn't want to burden anyone with it.

I would just drink for two days straight. Then I'd show up to training, score two goals at the weekend, and then go back and drink for another two days. But my wife really helped me keep it under control. She managed me, because I needed someone to manage me." Rooney said.

However, Rooney doesn't consider himself an alcoholic. He prefers to call himself a "binge drinker," which he believes is a completely different thing.

"I've never been an alcoholic. Rather, I was a binge drinker: if I had two days off, I'd literally drink for two days, then pull myself together — put in eye drops, chew gum, rinse my mouth — and go to work, then run out on the pitch and train. Sometimes I wasn't showing my best self to my club."

Rooney also shared that his marriage with Coleen Rooney was often on the brink of collapse, but thanks to Coleen's patience, they managed to preserve their family happiness.

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