England star Rooney in court to provide evidence over 4.3m agent lawsuit

Published: 12 Feb 2010 - 16:54:13

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England star Rooney in court to provide evidence over 4.3m agent lawsuit

Wayne Rooney agreed today that his agent had helped make him a 'very wealthy young man'. The Manchester United and England striker, being sued for £4.3 million in a dispute over contracts, confirmed he trusted Paul Stretford and was grateful to him. The court has heard that the young football prodigy, then aged 17, was signed up by Stretford in 2002 as he burst onto the football world with his home-town club Everton. Stretford, a founder and director of the sports management firm Proactive, brokered multi-million pound deals with firms including Nike and Coca-Cola for Rooney. He also acted for Rooney's wife Coleen, whose celebrity career took off as the player established himself as an England regular following his £20 million transfer to Manchester United in 2004. Court up: Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney arrives at Manchester Civil Courts of Justice before signing autographs for fans The deals agreed to pay Proactive 20 per cent commission but, sinceStretford left the firm in acrimony in October 2008, no furthercommission payments have been made. Proactive's lawyers claim that, under the terms of the contractStretford signed with the Rooneys while he was working for the firm,Proactive is still due the payments - now amounting to a minimum of£4.3 million. Rooney agreed when asked by Ian Mill QC, acting for Proactive, if Stretford had helped to make him a "very wealthy young man". Asked about the money he paid, Rooney replied: "It was for everydaylife. Obviously there's a lot of stuff that needs to be done and itwould be more or less impossible for me and my wife to do that." Asked if his agent did not tell him to get independent legal advicebefore signing multi-million pound sponsorship agreements, Rooney saidhe could not remember. The footballer also agreed he sided with Stretford after his agentwas dismissed from his job, charged with misconduct and banned asacting as a football agent by the Football Association. Rooney, 24, facing a courtroom packed with rows of pin-stripedlawyers and crammed with around 30 members of the press, gave singleword answers of "yes" to the initial questions from the barrister. Face off: Rooney will answer questions over former agent Paul Stretford (R) Rooney's business manager Stretford: I didn't need a deal with WayneIt's squeaky bum time, Carlo Ancelotti, as Manchester United and Arsenal join Chelsea in three-horse race... againManchester United join chase for Brazilian defender David LuizMANCHESTER UNITED FC