While Messi is exemplary, the English star who confessed his addiction to drinking

Lionel Messi is considered the greatest not only for what he does on the field of play, which is out of reach of the rest of the footballers, but also for what he is like off it. La Pulga has always shown himself to be humble, away from scandals and with a family profile. Furthermore, those who dealt with him assure that he is a better person than a player, with all that that means.

Now, over the last few years there have been footballers who also knew how to be idols of generations based on excellent performances and titles achieved. Some, like Cristiano Ronaldo, were closer to being on par with Leo and even managed to snatch titles from him, while others suffered from the '10' and could not beat him when they had to face them despite having great qualities.

One of those who falls into this last bag is Wayne Rooney, a prominent English forward who lost two UEFA Champions League finals to Messi with Manchester United. The current Birmingham coach had an outstanding career that peaked with the Red Devils and, although he knew how to be one of the best in his position, he could not sit at the same table as Leo. Now, the Liverpool native confessed that during his career he suffered from alcohol addiction problems.

Wayne Rooney's harsh revelation about his drinking addiction

In conversation with Podcast Seven, the former player said: "I have had many different challenges both on and off the field and my release was alcohol. When I was 20 years old I spent a couple of days at home without going out. I drank almost until I passed out. I didn't want to being around people because sometimes I felt embarrassed and other times I thought I let them down. In the end, I didn't know how else to deal with it, so I chose alcohol to try to overcome my problems".