Coleen Rooney: We were forced to flee Liverpool after Wayne's Everton departure

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, the 38-year-old opened up about her relationship with husband, Wayne Rooney, and the horrific abuse they endured following his departure from Everton.

The pair were just 12-years-old when they first met, but didn’t begin dating until they were 16 - after finishing secondary school. Now, 22 years later, the Croxteth-born couple share four children together and have been married for almost 17 years.

But, it hasn’t always been easy for the pair, who had their property vandalised and became too afraid to go out in their home city after Wayne’s move to Manchester United in 2004. Speaking with Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Ian Wright, Roy Keane and Jill Scott, Coleen explained: “Our house got spray painted everywhere and there were smashed windows in cars. We literally took ourselves and moved because Sir Alex Ferguson said that he wanted us out of Liverpool. But it was our families that got the backlash then and that wasn’t fair.

“Wayne never went into Liverpool for a while after that, to get food or go shopping because people would just shout stuff. It was tough, but it was worth it for him because he went on to win and seize the lead goal scorer. We had some fantastic times there.”

Despite winning 16 trophies with Manchester United, Wayne’s heart has always belonged to the Toffees. Coleen said: “He always said he wanted to go back [to Everton] and play there again and we also wanted the kids to see him play there. There’s mixed support for Everton and Manchester United [in the family].

“The [Everton] fans had so much faith in him back then and they would’ve loved him to stay and do what he did at Manchester United, but obviously you need a team around you. I was wondering if the fans would still love him, even though they hated him for leaving. “