Former England captain Wayne Rooney has left fellow pundits and the public bemused after revealing the highly unconventional contents of his ideal Christmas dinner plate. The surprising confession, made on his BBC show, has sparked widespread amusement and debate about festive culinary traditions.
Mushy Peas & No Gravy: Rooney's Festive 'Red Flag'
During a festive episode of The Wayne Rooney Show on the BBC, host Kelly Somers and guests Dion Dublin and Sam Allardyce discussed how footballers spend Christmas. When asked to detail his dream festive meal, Rooney listed a series of left-field choices that immediately raised eyebrows.
"There's mushy peas, there's sweetcorn. There's carrot and turnip, turkey. I have new potatoes, I don't like roast potatoes. And broccoli and cauliflower," the ex-Manchester United striker stated. The inclusion of mushy peas prompted Somers to label it a culinary "red flag," while former Aston Villa striker Dion Dublin was left incredulous.
"Those first two are weird, man. Mushy peas, and corn… that is terrible Wazza," Dublin exclaimed. The astonishment deepened when Rooney confirmed he prefers no gravy, dismissing it as "just messy," and claimed he uses vegetable juices instead to moisten the food.
Scholes' Ketchup Controversy Stuns Former Teammate
Rooney was not the only Manchester United legend causing shockwaves with his festive food preferences. In a separate incident, Paul Scholes revealed on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast that he likes to cover his Brussels sprouts with ketchup.
This admission horrified his former teammate Nicky Butt, who called Scholes a "dirty b*****d" and declared sprouts "f***ing disgusting." Co-host Paddy McGuinness joked that anyone putting ketchup on their Christmas dinner at his house would be immediately ejected.
Scholes defended his taste, explaining it was a habit from childhood visits to his grandmother's, where he also witnessed her drinking the leftover "sprout juice" or cabbage water.
Allardyce's Christmas Day Training Grudge
The conversation on Rooney's show also turned to the challenge of Christmas for professional players. Rooney noted that Sam Allardyce, who managed him at Everton in 2017, was one of only two bosses—alongside Louis van Gaal at Manchester United—to give him Christmas Day off.
Allardyce, a former player himself, expressed his strong dislike for the tradition of training on 25 December. "I hated coming in and training on Christmas Day," he said, describing the practice in his playing days as a "complete and utter waste of time."
He argued that if players cannot be trusted to behave professionally over the holiday, then there is a deeper issue at the club, advocating for a more trusting approach from modern managers.
The light-hearted segment provided a rare glimpse into the personal festive habits of football icons, proving that even sporting legends can have highly divisive opinions on the classic Christmas roast.
