MILLIONAIRE footballer Wayne Rooney and his wife, Coleen, are being sued for £4.3m after being “exploited” by his agent, a court heard.
The England and Manchester United striker and his celebrity wife owe the money in the form of commission payments to Proactive, a sports management company who agreed lucrative sponsorship deals with major companies on their behalf, it is alleged.
The firm got commission of up to 20% on multimillion-pound contracts signed by the Croxteth-born Rooneys to endorse firms such as Nike and Coca-Cola, Manchester Mercantile Court heard.
But the firms’ “primary point of contact” to the couple was Paul Stretford, the footballer’s agent and a former director of Proactive. But when he left the firm in acrimony, in October, 2008, he refused to authorise further payments of commission, now worth £4.3m, forcing Proactive to sue the Rooneys, the court heard.
The case in Manchester is scheduled to last three weeks, with the Rooneys expected to give evidence next week.
