Wayne Rooney has revealed an England trade secret involving former Chelsea duo John Terry and Frank Lampard.
The trio were involved in what is widely regarded as the Three Lions 'Golden Generation' despite failing to muster any success under then-boss Sven Goran Eriksson.
Speaking via a recent episode of the popular 'Stick To Football' podcast, Rooney has revealed all about Terry and Lampard's special treatment that left the former Manchester United striker quite amused when recalling his story.
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"I used to get one [a massage] about 9 pm and then after us, the last ones were John Terry and Frank Lampard," began Rooney. "Then they used to get Bill who was the Chelsea masseuse who was in there, he would massage them and then they would go in bed and they would get in, they would put their feet out the end of the bed and he would massage their feet."
"Gospel truth! [He] would massage their feet until they would go to sleep and then he would tuck them in. I swear to god." Gary Neville was left in utter shock by the revelation, admitting: "No wonder we f****** lost!"
"No wonder we f******* lost!" 🤣John Terry and Frank Lampard on England duty... pic.twitter.com/A3yT9Ia1FoJune 22, 2024
England's failings in that period have been well documented, with plenty more former players admitting a rift from their competitive club days. Ex-Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand admitted that Premier League differences did not help matters when it came to performing for their country.
"It overshadowed things. It killed that England team, that generation," began Rio. "One year we would have been fighting Liverpool to win the league, another year it would be Chelsea.
"So I was never going to walk into the England dressing room and open up to Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, John Terry or Joe Cole at Chelsea, or Steven Gerrard or Jamie Carragher at Liverpool because of the fear they would take something back to their club and use it against us."
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