Cheshire county
Football village in an idyllic landscape: neighbors are mad at the Rooney family
Coleen and Wayne Rooney have been married since 2008
© Martin Rickett / Picture Alliance
The English county of Cheshire is a popular place to live for soccer stars. Wayne Rooney also built a gigantic property there – and thus aroused the anger of neighbors and the local council.
Neighbors and the local council are mad at soccer star Wayne Rooney. The reason is the gigantic property that the 36-year-old had built in the English county of Cheshire. The dispute has been simmering for several years. Sometimes it was about a wall that Rooney wanted to create as a privacy screen around his property, sometimes about a shed that was to serve as a storage place for a tractor and hay bales. For the latter, the Briton went to court for almost two years – and won.
Now it is the request of another neighbor that is causing emotions. According to this, an equally wealthy resident wants to build a barn to raise sheep. However, the local council is concerned that this will only serve as a pretext for the approval and that in truth a luxurious house will be built there. As a negative example, he cites the couple Coleen and Wayne Rooney.
They began to build in 2017 on the site of a former farm and in recent years they have moved up a gigantic villa with six bedrooms, its own wine cellar and cinema. A pool should of course not be missing. There is also a dedicated soccer field, a riding facility with stables for 15 horses and a garage with space for six cars. In total, the Rooneys have built on an area of 40 hectares with various buildings.
Wayne Rooney’s property is reminiscent of a supermarket
Some Brits jokingly compare the property with a large supermarket in the surrounding area. The local council speaks derogatory of a housing estate for footballers, because Rooney is not the only one who appreciates the idyllic location and at the same time the proximity to the city of Manchester.
The surrounding villages in Cheshire are the preferred places of residence for the players of the Premier League clubs Manchester City and Manchester United. David and Victoria Beckham settled there in the 90s, later stars like Rio Ferdinand and Cristiano Ronaldo followed. The English internationals Raheem Sterling, Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford also have their villas there. In the neighboring small town of Knutsford there is even a workshop that specializes in luxury cars such as Lamborghini, Aston Martin and Rolls Royce.
The gigantic properties of the prominent neighbors are a thorn in the side of the community members. The main allegation is that they are an eyesore for the idyllic landscape and that the farmers hardly leave any land to cultivate.
Wayne Rooney seems deaf to such concerns so far. After three years of construction, he, his wife Coleen and their four sons moved into their £ 20 million property last year – further beautification measures cannot be ruled out.
Sources: “The Sun”, “Daily Mail”