England boss Sven Goran Eriksson will talk to star striker Wayne Rooney over allegations that he has racked up £700,000 (over €1 million) of gambling debts, the FA said today.
Rooney, who earns an estimated £50,000 (€72,000) a week on the pitch and millions more a year from sponsorship deals, is one of a number of England players said to be involved in betting on sports other than their own, according to the Sunday Mirror.
It is not the first time England players have been linked to the pursuit of gambling.
Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson — who owns his own racehorse — and former England boss Kevin Keegan have reputations for enjoying a bit of a flutter.
Michael Owen, who owns four racehorses, is well known for his love of gambling and in 2003 he admitted to being an "occasional" gambler who had run up £30,000-£40,000 losses from his bets.
At the time he said: "This publicity will not stop my love for horses. They are my main hobby outside of football."
A spokesman for Rooney, 20, refused to discuss the newspaper's claims saying: "We have got absolutely no comment to make at all."
The Football Association said although Eriksson would not launch an inquiry into the claims he would speak to the players allegedly involved to establish exactly what the situation is.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)