Wayne Rooney has denied accusations that he helped himself to Nike merchandise while inside a VIP box at Wembley.
The £300,000-a-week Manchester United star was captured on CCTV in May 2014 appearing to rifle through the brand’s merchandise before putting them in a plastic bin bag while inside the hospitality box.
Footage, which was obtained by The Sunday Mirror, shows the 30-year-old athlete laughing as he appears to rummage through the goods, which were on display in a cabinet at the side of the room.
He seemingly laughs as he stacks the items in his arms in front of three others and even appears to tuck a trainer into his waistband at one point.
The clip then allegedly shows the married father-of-three taking a plastic liner from a bin before emptying the contents onto the floor in an apparent bid to fill the bag with the brand’s items.
A source told Dan Warburton at the Sunday paper: ‘People were shocked and bewildered to see Rooney’s ­behaviour in the footage, to think he’s someone earning in excess of £300,000 each week.
‘It’s clear what Wayne was doing. You can see him debating with friends about which items to take.’
But the footballer took to Facebook to publish a short statement, in which he strenuously denied the claims.
He wrote: ‘Allegations published by the Sunday Mirror that were presented to my management team, Nike and the FA are denied by all, are wrong and total rubbish.
‘The matter is now with my lawyers so can’t say anymore at this time.’
A spokesman for Mr Rooney had also vehemently denied he had taken anything earlier in the day, saying there was ‘no truth’ in the anonymous claims.
They added: ‘They [the claims] are false and defamatory of Wayne Rooney. Wayne Rooney took no items whatsoever from the Nike box.’
A spokesman for Nike also dismissed the allegations, asserting: ‘This story is not true. We can confirm that nothing was taken from the Nike box.’
MailOnline contacted Rooney’s representative for comment and was told they do not wish to add anything further.
The video comes after Mr Rooney was left out of the England squad for Euro 2016 warm-up games against Germany and Holland because he is recovering from a knee injury.
The side will travel to Berlin to face world champions Germany on March 26 before hosting the Dutch at Wembley three days later.










How action played out at Wembley

May 30, 2014: Rooney captains England to a 3-0 victory over Peru at Wembley ahead of World Cup in Brazil.
May 31, 2014: Rooney and other England players are invited to Nike’s corporate hospitality box for Carl Froch’s world-title bout with George Groves.
He appears on Sky Box Office telling pundits: “I think Froch might stop Groves because he has the experience, the know-how and power. “
After 11pm, Rooney uses a plastic bag from a waste bin and begins helping himself to items from a display cabinet in the VIP suite.
He is pictured leaving with bag of goodies.

June 1, 2014 : Rooney flies out to the United States with the England squad for friendlies with Ecuador and Honduras before World Cup.
Early June, 2014 : Nike report thefts from their corporate box to Wembley and CCTV is recovered. Guard Mariusz Mozgiel is seen “rummaging” through a cupboard and stealing a PlayStation, speakers and control pads on May 22. Wembley also discover the footage of Rooney.
June 12, 2014 : Mozgiel’s house is raided by police who find “hundreds” of items of memorabilia and electric goods.
June 27, 2014 : Mozgiel makes his first appearance at Harrow Crown Court charged with theft.
August 8, 2014 : Mozgiel admits two counts but denies stealing mobile phones and tablet devices from EE.
January 13, 2015 : The Crown Prosecution Service offers no evidence on the count relating to thefts from EE.
February 10, 2015 : Mozgiel is sentenced to four months.
February 2016 : Sunday Mirror investigates reports of Rooney being caught on CCTV. Images confirm the star was in VIP suite at Wembley and grabbed the items from display cabinet.
March 2016 : Sunday Mirror approaches Rooney, Nike and Wembley for comment
Source : Mirror