Wayne Rooney is a closet fan of children’s literature

Wayne Rooney may give the impression that his reading experience does not extend beyond the microwave instructions of Rustler burgers, but he has actually read entire novels. No foolin’, real novels.

As the Manchester United Foundation tours schools and libraries in order to encourage thousands of “fans” (read: “children”) to pick up a book, the striker named Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone (the shortest one in the series) as his favourite tome:

“The Harry Potter books are favourites with a lot of children, and the same goes for a lot of adults.”

“I’d encourage any child to read them, because they really get your imagination going.”

Rooney also revealed that he loves Jamie Carragher’s autobiography, because he finds it interesting to see “how other footballers got where they are today”.

Oddly, there’s no room for Coleen’s Real Style by Coleen Rooney or Welcome to My World by Coleen Rooney on his reading list.

See also: The Spoiler’s top five football books

Required reading for those in love with the game

Need something to read on your next holiday? Of course, you don’t - there’s a recession on, and only Coleen Rooney can afford to lay around on a beach all day. Regardless, here’s our five favourite books written about the beautiful game…

Fever Pitch
by Nick Hornby

In his autobiographical account of attending Arsenal matches between 1968 and 1992, Nick Hornby eloquently evoked the irrational thoughts, hopes and fears of being a football supporter. The faithful account of countless hours spent at Highbury is augmented with details about Hornby’s personal life - the breakup of his family, his love life and his well-documented passion for music. We haven’t seen the British film version, but the American film, in which the protagonist loves the Boston Red Sox, is utter poo.

My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes
by Gary Imlach

Journalist and broadcaster Gary Imlach immortalised the memory of his father Stewart in his superb 2005 biography. Imlach snr was a left winger for various sides in the fifties and sixties before moving in to coaching, and the book captures his career highlights from the perspective of his adoring football-mad son. If only every member of our Mercenary XI were forced to read about the humble working conditions and £20-a-week wages…