England and Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney has this week been criticised over a picture taken last week of the striker smoking a cigarette. Photographs printed in The Sun, showed Rooney and wife Colleen enjoyed a night out in Manchester. The England international was photographed chanting in the street and urinating up against a wall, as well as smoking a cigarette.

Many believe that Manchester United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, is outraged by the behaviour of Rooney, who is likely to receive the famous ‘hair dryer’ treatment from the United boss. An inside source told The Sun that there had been a ‘nervous atmosphere’ at the club, and stated that Sir Alex ‘hates bad publicity and will have felt let down’.

This is not the first time that Rooney has been pictured smoking. The forward also made the papers back in 2008 when he was photographed having a cigarette in a Las Vegas hotel swimming pool on his honeymoon.

It is believed that around 20% of the UK’s adults smoke tobacco. The dangers of cigarettes are widely known. New statistics suggest that 109 people are diagnosed with lung cancer, per day. Considering how integral physical performance is in the sport, it is surprising that Rooney isn’t the first International footballer to be known to enjoy smoking cigarettes.

Legendary Brazilian midfielder Socrates reportedly smoked 2 packets of cigarettes a day throughout his career. Zinadene Zidane was also known to smoke the odd cigarette; the Frenchman was photographed smoking during the 2006 World Cup despite leading an anti-smoking campaign in 2002. England goalkeeper David James also admitted to the addiction. ‘I spent most of my career puffing away on fags: after training, before matches and even on the team coach’, James admitted in a newspaper column.

Senior lecturer in sports therapy at Edge Hill University, and former football physio, Mark Leather, wrote on the Daily Mail has criticised Rooney’s smoking. Mr Leather wrote on the Daily Mail online, ‘is baffling to see Wayne Rooney smoking because the long-term effects are well documented and are not conducive to professional athletes’.