WAYNE GOES SOLO

English football legend Wayne Rooney is off to be a coach in Washington with the support of his wife, Coleen - but she's told him she won't be going with him to 'boring'  DC

- LINDSAY DE FREITAS

HE'S as well-known for being a hard-partying love rat as he is for his football success. She's his long-suffering wife, taking him back each time for the sake of the kids.

They have a penchant for exotic holidays, where she soaks up the sun in an endless supply of bikinis. Home is a mansion in Cheshire, England, with its own whisky and cigar room and a football pitch on the grounds.

Wayne and Coleen Rooney's marriage is the stuff soap operas are made of - the good, the bad and the ugly of fame and fortune. They've been making headlines for years and they've done so again now - although the latest spot of newsmaking has cast them in a rather different light.

Tatler, the glossy British magazine beloved by high society, has released its latest social power index, which is described as "a report into where the real power lies in British society". Prince Charles and Camilla top the list and right behind them in second place are the Rooneys.

"Wayne is England's record goal-scorer, Coleen has graced the pages of Vogue," the publication says. "But nothing has matched their dashing display in the riveting Wagatha Christie case."

The case, of course, is the sensational trial that played out in London recently when fellow WAG Rebekah Vardy took Coleen to court for libel. Coleen had accused Rebekah, wife of footballer Jamie Vardy, of leaking false stories about her private life from her Instagram account.

Rebekah claims she was innocent and that Coleen's accusations had dragged her name through the mud. Judgement in the case is still pending but one thing's for sure: the Rooneys were the winners in the court of public opinion.

Day after day Wayne arrived at court with his tastefully dressed wife, supporting her every step of the way. Coleen was praised for being down-to-earth and genuine, a woman who shunned many of the trappings of the WAG lifestyle, preferring a low-key existence with her children.