Derby County manager Wayne Rooney has apologised to the club and his family after images of him attending a private party emerged online.
The record Manchester United and England goalscorer has been the target of much attention after photographs surfaced that appeared to show Rooney asleep in a hotel room surrounded by young women.
Having alleged that he was the victim of a blackmail attempt, it was confirmed by police earlier this week that they would not be taking Rooney's complaint any further.
Following Derby County's preseason friendly against Real Betis on Wednesday evening, Wayne Rooney opted to address the issue publicly.
"I made a mistake," he told Sky Sports News in the aftermath of a win for the Championship club.
"I went to a private party with two of my friends and from me, I'd like to apologise to my family and the club for the images which were going round and I want to move forward on this.
"I'm grateful to Derby County for giving me this opportunity to get this club back to where it belongs, and I'll do everything in my power to make sure I do that.
"It's dealt with. I'm looking forward to moving forward and preparing for another game on Sunday."
In what has been a challenging week for Wayne Rooney, the Derby County manager had an unfortunate encounter with Irish midfielder Jason Knight in training.
It was reported that Knight suffered an ankle injury after coming off worse from a 50-50 training ground challenge with his Derby County boss.
"Jason will be out for eight to 12 weeks", Rooney explained. "He has rocked his ankle. Thankfully he doesn't need surgery but needs the time to make sure he gets his ankle strong again.
"Of course [it is a huge blow], everyone knows what Knighty brings to us, he is a fantastic player, great energy, and he will be a loss, but we have to deal with that."
What Rooney didn't divulge at the time was that he was partially to blame for Knight's injury.
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