Wayne Rooney has revealed he has Polish-Jewish heritage in his new documentary.
The former England captain, 40, is starring in a new £10million fly-on-the-wall show, The Real Rooneys, which was filmed last year for Disney+.
‘I’ve recently found out that my mum’s mum, so my nan’s, family were Polish Jews,’ he says.
‘I’m Catholic, but then I’ve always asked questions like why aren’t we Jewish?’
Asked whether he might investigate further and do a spin-off show, he quips: ‘Roo the Jew?’
The Rooneys take a trip to Auschwitz in the documentary and Wayne tells his taxi driver: ‘I’ve watched a lot of documentaries on it and you just wouldn’t think human beings could do that to other human beings. It’s crazy.
Wayne Rooney pays a trip to Auschwitz with his family in his new Disney+ documentary
Rooney reveals that he has Polish-Jewish heritage via his maternal grandmother
Rooney Pictured with his wife Coleen at the premiere for their 10-part documentary on Tuesday
‘Having knowledge of what happened before our time and what people did for us to be able to enjoy the privileges we have now, we forget that sometimes.’
In a poignant scene outside the camp, his son Kit asks about the guard towers, where Rooney and their guide explain how the Nazis presented their prisoners from escaping.
He also visited with his England team-mates in 2012 during the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine.
‘I’m a parent and it’s tough to see what happened there,’ he said at the time.
‘You’ve seen the amount of children who died. You see the children’s clothes and shoes, it’s really sad. You have to see it first hand.’
The Rooneys also take a trip to Krakow with third and fourth sons Kit, 10, and Cass, eight, due to the latter taking an interest in the Second World War from his studies.
Coleen, 40, notes that Wayne has ‘a real bug for learning about different places in the world, culture, people, values’.
The Manchester United legend has opened up more about his spiritual side recently, explaining on a recent episode of Stick to United how he would like to visit the site of Jesus’ baptism, the River Jordan.
‘That’s where John the Baptist baptised Jesus, it would be really interesting to go.’
He used to wear a cross at training and revealed that he used to pray for his family before matches.
‘I pray to God, of course. I believe in God,’ he said in 2012.
‘I pray in the physio room. I go in after my warm-up. I basically spend a few minutes in there on my own.
‘I don’t pray to help me score goals. I pray for the health of me and everyone on the pitch.
‘It is something I have always done. I pray at night. I pray for my family and friends and for the health of everyone I love.’
The new documentary is an intimate look into the life of the family, which also includes Kai, 16, and 13-year-old Klay, who both play for Manchester United’s academy.
At the premiere for the show on Tuesday night, Rooney appeared to have turned back the clock as he displayed his new nose job, slimmer physique and smooth skin.
He looked smart in a crisp blue suit worn over a light-coloured shirt as he posed on the red carpet at the event, which was held at the Picturehouse in central London.
The 10-episode documentary is out today, covering a pivotal year in the Rooney household, after Wayne was sacked as Plymouth Argyle manager, swapping the touchline for school runs.
Rooney first shared the results of his nose job back in August after revealing he’d had an operation to fix it after breaking it twice during his football career.
The former forward first revealed he’d had the operation on his new podcast Stick to United, which he presents with football influencer Mark Goldbridge, a week after having surgery.
He revealed that he was feeling ‘a little bit uncomfortable’ following the surgery.
Coleen Rooney revealed she considered ‘separating’ from ‘careless’ husband Wayne following a series of explosive rows
It seems it’s not always happy families in the Rooney household as the former England footballer and the I’m A Celebrity star admitted they can go days without talking to each other
He said: ‘It’s actually really lucky I’ve got no black eyes, but I’ve still got two plastic tubes up my nose, which are coming out very soon. I can’t wait for them to come out.
‘So, they’ve cut here [under my nostrils]… So, that’s all stitched – a little bit uncomfortable.’
Wayne said the first time he broke his nose was during an FA Cup game against Preston North End in 2015 while playing for United.
He added that he remembered the game for ‘a bit of a dive’ he made to win a penalty.
Wayne continued: ‘And then when I went to DC, I broke my nose again. That was a bad one then.
‘So I needed surgery, but I’ve never had it. Put it off. And then this summer I thought get the World Cup out the way and I’ll get it done. So had it done last week. Went well, but these tubes were horrible.’
The sportsman later recalled that during the same 3-1 victory against Preston at Deepdale, his former team-mate Marouane Fellaini also broke his nose.
‘But he missed the next couple of games. I didn’t miss any games,’ he added.
