LONDON - Everton manager David Moyes is to sue a newspaper over comments it published from England striker Wayne Rooney's autobiography and is considering further action over the book, his lawyer said today.
Rooney, who joined Manchester United in 2004 for a fee estimated at 25 million pounds, made his
first-team breakthrough under Moyes at Goodison Park as a teenager.
Lawyer Mel Goldberg said Moyes had served a writ against Associated Newspapers after the Daily Mail serialised the 20-year-old's autobiography "My Story So Far".
"He has not at this point in time issued a writ against the (book's) publishers or the author or Wayne Rooney," he said. "He's thinking about that one. He's considering his legal position in relation to the book."
In his book, Rooney said his soured relationship with Moyes hastened his departure and that he would have gone almost anywhere to get away from the Everton boss.
Goldberg had earlier told BBC Radio his client would sue the player himself.
"There are a couple of comments but I think the main one is 'Moyes forced me out' (of Everton). That was far from the truth," Goldberg told the BBC.
Goldberg told Reuters the situation could be resolved if the newspaper apologised to Moyes but that he did not expect that to happen.
"I think this will run for a while," he said.
Rooney, a product of Everton's youth academy, made his first-team debut as a 16-year-old in 2002 and two months later, five days shy of his 17th birthday, became the then Premier League's youngest scorer when he netted a superb match-winner against Arsenal.
His England debut followed in February 2003.
- REUTERS
