Wayne Rooney was sued on Friday by Everton manager David Moyes for libel over comments in his autobiography.
Moyes is suing the England striker after he said in My Story So Far that the manager was overbearing, controlling and ultimately responsible for the player’s move from Everton to Manchester United in 2004.
In the book, Rooney claims he told Moyes he wanted to leave Everton after a newspaper alleged he had used prostitutes. Rooney then suggested Moyes leaked details of the conversation to the Liverpool Echo newspaper, which led Rooney to quit the club he had supported from childhood and joined as trainee.
Moyes said the allegation had ”injured his professional and personal reputation and caused serious embarrassment and distress” in the writ issued at the High Court in London.
Moyes has started libel proceedings against the book’s author, Hunter Davies, and publishers Harper Collins. He has also asked for an injunction preventing the offending passage of the book from being published again. — Sapa-AP