Standing proud as he held up the under-14s Premier League Albert Phelan Cup last week after scoring the winning “wonder goal”, Kai Rooney seemed to be seamlessly following in his dad Wayne’s footsteps.
The youngster is already shooting for stardom at just 14 for Manchester United’s youth team, having scored eight goals in six matches, but insiders say that while mum Coleen Rooney is bursting with pride, she can’t help but fear what the future may hold.
Coleen, 38, has witnessed first-hand the hurdles and temptations that were faced by husband Wayne, 38, and very nearly ended their marriage, with a source now telling Closer, “As Kai’s goals start making headlines, Coleen is feeling a growing sense of anxiety as he’s quite literally following in Wayne’s footsteps.
“Her biggest fear with Kai is how vulnerable he is – she knows that his family name and connections mean he’s always going to stand apart, and that a lot of people will likely befriend him, or girls will try to date him for that and look to use him for their own gain.
“Kai has been obsessed with football since he was born, and Wayne has said from early on, ‘Kai’s going to be a baller, 100 per cent’. But Coleen has vowed not to let history repeat itself.”
Joining the Everton Youth Team at just nine years old before making his professional debut at 16 in 2002 – the year he started a relationship with childhood friend Coleen – football undoubtedly changed Wayne’s life.
Unable to handle his newfound fame and the immense salary he was suddenly receiving, Wayne’s exploits off-pitch quickly made more headlines than the goals he was scoring as the team’s new golden boy.
It later emerged that the same year he had started dating Coleen, Wayne had visited a massage parlour on 10 separate occasions, paying £140 to sleep with a prostitute before returning to sleep with two other women – one a 48-year-old grandmother – just weeks later.
Coleen forgave him but, despite their lavish Portofino wedding in 2008, the couple were once again hit by scandal in 2010 when a kiss-and-tell revealed how Wayne had embarked on an affair with prostitute Jenny Thompson, including a threesome with her friend Helen Wood, while Coleen had been pregnant with Kai.
Then, in 2017, Wayne was arrested for drink-driving after a night out with “party girl” Laura Simpson, before being arrested again for public intoxication at an airport during his 2018/2019 stint for Washington D.C, which also saw him down shots until 2.30am with another girl at a bar in Florida.
During an interview on This Morning last year, Coleen candidly admitted her marriage to Wayne – with whom she shares Kai, Klay, 11, Kit, eight, and six-year-old Cass – has been a “battle”.
But defending her choice to stay by his side, she said in November, “Wayne’s a great dad. Every time he’s gone off the rails, it’s been a stupid, drunken, spur-of-the-moment thing... My message is if there’s something to work at, if the love’s still there, why would you throw that away? Mistakes have happened, but I’ve always known Wayne has loved me.”
And now the source says Coleen has encouraged Wayne to be open about his mistakes to protect their boys.
The source adds, “Knowing the impact that this has had on his mum and the rest of the family left a big impression on Kai, and Wayne has also been very open that all of that stupid stuff he did back then still haunts him now.
“Coleen doesn’t hold back either, telling Kai that the public often won’t remember the good things people do, just their mistakes. And it’s stuck. A few years back, when Kai started going online, she and Wayne had a big talk to him about the newspaper headlines and Wayne’s past.
“Wayne and Coleen, as well as the wider family, have made sure the boys know how to treat women and girls with respect and they have drummed it into them that what you do in public always comes back on your family and can cause a lot of hurt.”
But if Wayne’s mistakes saw Coleen cruelly named a “doormat” by online trolls, then her 2022 Wagatha Christie legal fight against Rebekah Vardy saw her re-emerge as a woman not to mess with.
And the insider says that after witnessing the lack of help Wayne received in navigating his own career and the limelight, protective and doting Coleen is now determined to be the ultimate “momager” to Kai.
The source adds, “There’s a sense of momager being sparked in her. Already with Kai, she’s taken a managerial role – she leaves the football up to Wayne and the experts, but everything else is managed by Coleen, from driving him around, his schoolwork, his social life, his finances and his social media presence.
“Everything has been about trying to give the boys the most normal upbringing and instilling a work ethic, respect and an understanding of life’s rules. She’s made it very clear she will continue that very protective role in his life throughout the next stage.
“This all being said, Coleen thinks Kai is absolutely wonderful and amazing in every way, not just on the pitch, but off as well. She is pushing to make him as brilliant as he can be and reminding him that she and Wayne will always be by his side.”