England skipper Wayne Rooney has admitted that he almost quit football at the age of 14 because he had fallen out of love with the game.
Rooney will become the ninth player to win 100 caps for the Three Lions when he leads his side out at Wembley against Slovenia on Saturday in their Euro 2016 qualifying clash.
However, the 29-year-old has revealed that he almost gave up on a career in the game due to a lack of enjoyment as a youngster, and he was only talked into sticking with football by former Everton boss Colin Harvey.
Rooney told reporters: "I think for me, Colin Harvey was a massive help because when I was about 14 I really stopped enjoying playing football.
"Around about that age, you start getting told what different things to do on the pitch, you're learning the tactics of the game. I felt at that moment that I just wanted to go and enjoy it. I felt that it was too much and, yeah, I remember going home and telling my dad that I didn't want to go anymore.
"My dad was upset with me over it. And then I went in to see Colin Harvey and he was great for me. It was really down to Colin Harvey that I carried on. He sat me down and made me fall back in love with it."
Rooney has scored 43 goals for England in his 99 appearances.
