Court records have revealed that former England and Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney was arrested for public swearing and intoxication on 16 December at Dulles International Airport in Loudoun County, Virginia.

The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office confirmed yesterday that Rooney was taken into custody where he was charged and later paid a $25 fine and a further $91 in costs.

“He was booked into the Loudoun County Adult Detention Centre on a charge of public intoxication stemming from an arrest by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police (MWAA),” a spokesperson said.

“He was later released on a personal recognisance bond.”

Rooney’s spokesperson has since claimed the 33-year-old was feeling “disorientated” after taking sleeping tablets on his flight to Virginia from Saudi Arabia, where he was attending the Riyadh Formula E Grand Prix, saying:

“During the flight Wayne took a prescribed amount of sleeping tablets mixed with some alcohol consumption and consequently was disorientated on arrival.”

“He was approached by police who arrested him on a minor misdemeanour charge.

“He received a statutory automatic fine and was released shortly afterwards at the airport. The matter is now at an end.

“Wayne would like to put on record his appreciation for the manner he was treated by all involved.”

Rooney’s current club DC United have subsequently released a statement insisting that the they will handle the incident internally due to it being a private matter:

“We are aware of news reports indicating that Wayne Rooney was arrested in December. We understand the media’s interest in this matter but believe this is a private matter for Wayne that D.C. United will handle internally. We have no further comment”.