Wayne Rooney is throwing himself into his new life in Plymouth.
The football star turned manager, 38, has had a tough start in the Devon city, with The Pilgrims sitting 18th in the Championship table with just two wins so far this season.
And photos of Wayne sat in the stands at Old Trafford last weekend has worried some of his fans, who remarked on his appearance and weight.
But the Manchester United and England legend’s ‘lonely bachelor lifestyle’ hundreds of miles from home has also reportedly been causing concern to those close to him, including his wife Coleen.
Father-of-four Rooney, whose team is playing Blackburn Rovers at Home Park today, is said to have been living a booze and takeaway-fuelled lifestyle since taking over as manager of Championship side Plymouth this summer.
And when he’s not in his flat planning for the next match or unwinding on his games console, he is known to go for a walk with friends and pop into one of his local drinking establishments.
One customer in a bar close to Wayne’s rented home in the city told MailOnline today that ‘he comes in quite often for a few drinks’, adding: ‘He’s definitely put on some weight since he’s been down here, maybe he’s getting stuck into the pasties.’
Shortly after being appointed as Plymouth’s manager, Wayne Rooney was spotted belting out Ed Sheeran tunes on a late-night karaoke event at the Cider Press bar in the city’s Barbican area
Wayne poses for a picture outside one of his local bars, where he was described as it their ‘new regular’
Coleen (pictured this week) has remained at their Cheshire mansion because their four children are in school and their eldest Kai is in the Man United academy. One report has claimed she is worried that her husband has not been looking after himself
Rooney has been seen at several venues in Royal William Yard where he is believed to have been renting a flat nearby
Inside a loft-style apartment in Plymouth’s luxurious Royal William Yard development, similar to the one Wayne Rooney is believed to have been renting
Wayne Rooney pictured watching his old club lose to Tottenham last Sunday – the former England and Manchester United striker’s appearance left some fans concerned
Isolated from his roots in Merseyside and after making a slow start to the high-pressure job, Rooney has been regularly spotted enjoying nights out in the city’s bars and nightclubs including quiz nights and karaoke nights belting out his favourite Ed Sheeran hits including Shape of You.
And while he is served healthy lunches at work, he is said to spend many evenings alone eating fast food, drinking and playing video games.
One source said recently: ‘Coleen’s told him no more takeaways, so she’s sorting out meal plans as well as making sure he’s busy when he’s not at work’.
After signing a three-year contract with the club, Rooney made the move 260 miles from his family home in Cheshire to a rented seaside flat in the Devon city.
When the move was first announced Wayne, Coleen and their kids Kai, 14, Klay. 10, Kit, eight, and Cass, five had been rumoured to be house hunting in the South West and particularly Salcombe, Britain’s most expensive seaside town nicknamed Chelsea-on-Sea, which is just under an hour’s drive from his new job.
But he and Coleen, also 38, ultimately decided moving the family to Devon would be too disruptive to the kids’ education and eldest son Kai’s promising football career in the Man Utd academy.
In a recent interview, Coleen said: ‘We thought long and hard about it (moving to Devon) but with the kids it didn’t work.
‘Kai’s now in year 10 and just starting GCSE prep and everything’s going well with football, and the other boys are all settled at school, so it didn’t seem fair on the children to pick them up and take them away, and start in a whole new place.’
Instead, Wayne cut short his BBC punditry role at the Euros in Germany and just days after returning home he moved alone to Devon to begin pre-season training on July 3.
Since then, Rooney is believed to be living in an upmarket apartment in the city’s luxurious Royal William Yard development.
Neighbours declined to comment when approached by MailOnline this week.
The football hero with bar staff this summer. He has even known to have come along for a pub quiz near his Plymouth pad
Wayne has been seen walking in the area around Plymouth Sound with friends
While a loft-style waterfront flat there is luxurious and comfortable, it is a far cry from Rooney’s £20 million six-bedroom Cheshire mansion which boasts a snooker room, a home cinema, indoor swimming pool, an underground spa, wine cellar, a stable area with space for 14 horses and a football pitch.
Another flat in the development is currently listed for almost £5,000 per month.
The family-loving star appears to be struggling to adapt to life away from Coleen, his partner since secondary school, and their children.
Alone in the flat much of the time, has been spotted out drinking regularly in Plymouth including joining pub quiz nights at the Seco Lounge, a cafe-bar a few minutes walk from his flat, as well as several other nearby bars.
One customer told MailOnline this week: ‘I last saw him a few weeks back but I think he comes in quite often for a few drinks. I heard he’s come in for the quiz before too but I’m not sure how well he did.
‘Judging by the number of selfies posted on Facebook groups he’s going out to bars a lot’.
In August, Rooney was spotted belting out Ed Sheeran tunes on a late-night karaoke event at the Cider Press bar in the city’s Barbican area.
Video posted on social media shows Rooney urging the crowd to ‘make some f***ing noise, baby’.
Wayne Rooney arrived at Turf Moor on Tuesday for his Plymouth side’s Championship clash against Burnley. They lost 1-0
The star has struggled to keep the pounds off since retirement; the footballer pictured playing in a recent Legends match at Old Trafford in early September, where he scored a great goal
Jarrod Styles, assistant manager, said: ‘He was definitely a better footballer than he is a singer.
‘He was an ideal customer, he was just chatting to people then he got up and sang Shape of You. He was working the crowd telling everybody to join in.’
The nearby Rakuda Bar also shared photos of two different visits from Rooney on Facebook, describing him as ‘Rakuda’s new regular’
Even before the latest pictures emerged, Wayne’s unhealthy lifestyle was causing concern back at home, during a visit with the kids early last month, Coleen is said to have been so shocked by her husband’s lifestyle she banned him from eating any more takeaways.
A source told Heat magazine: ‘Coleen got a bit of a shock when she saw Wayne recently. She’s worried he’s not taking enough care of himself now that he’s living on his own.
‘It was always going to be a big adjustment for him when he gave up playing football professionally. He was at the peak of his fitness during that time – Coleen made sure he ate healthily and he was always running about and playing footie with the boys. Now, she feels he’s not putting himself first, and worries that he’s struggling to cope without her looking after him.
‘She knows what Wayne can be like when he’s away – although the club has staff making the team healthy food for lunch, Wayne will be at home by himself in the evenings.
‘He’s not the best cook, so he’ll always take the easy option’.
Revealing that Coleen has already put plans in place to get her husband’s fitness back on track, the source added: ‘She’s decided to put him on a bit of health and fitness kick ahead of his 39th birthday next month, as she wants him to look and feel his best when they go away for a few days to celebrate.’
Representatives for Wayne and Coleen were contacted for comment.
Following a disastrous three-month spell managing Birmingham last season, Rooney endured a tough start to life in the South West where he failed to win any of Argyle’s first five league games. Recent wins against Sunderland and Luton have boosted morale, however.
Rooney is also known to be an avid gamer, playing hours of Fifa online to relieve stress. Before taking over at Plymouth, Rooney spoke about passing the time gaming with a team of YouTubers named Girth N Turf,
He told former teammate Gary Neville: ‘I know the rapper Aitch and they have got this team. I’d nothing else to do so I joined the team, it’s hilarious.’
The photo of Rooney watching United lose 3-0 to Tottenham while clad in a black coat was shared by Sky Sports on X and several users were quick to urge him to take care of himself.
‘He looks really bad’, one account posted in response.
‘Hang in there, Wayne,’ another said, perhaps in a tongue-in-cheek fashion.
‘Rooney looks older than his age,’ a third added. ‘He needs to take care of himself.’
A fourth account wrote ‘He looks too old’, accompanied by a crying emoji.
‘Is he suffocating, he’s all red?’ a fifth asked. ‘Asking out of concern.’
Lean: Wayne during the World Cup in 2010; the star was in peak condition for much of his career
Rooney confessed in 2022 that he only had one suit that still fit him after being ribbed over his appearance by Jamie Carragher on Sky’s Monday Night Football.
Carragher noticed Rooney was wearing the same suit, shirt and tie combination from his Premier League Hall of Fame induction a fortnight before the show.
Rooney responded: ‘Do you know what? There’s a reason behind that.
‘Obviously, over the last year, I’ve put a little bit of weight on. So it’s actually the only suit what’ll fit me at the minute – I’ve got to get the most out of it.’
Rooney has previously opened up on his fight to avoid piling on the pounds during his trophy-laden playing career, writing in his 2012 book My Decade In The Premier League: ‘I’m like most blokes, I put on a few pounds after a holiday.
‘Even if I don’t train for a week, I put on two or three.’
