Out-of-work Wayne Rooney’s stunning secret interest he is turn out to be ‘obsessed’ with

A secret hobby of Wayne Rooney’s has been revealed after it was found that he is “obsessed” with a TV show.

The 38-year-old’s interest in history was revealed by football writer Henry Winter, who visited Auschwitz with the England team ahead of Euro 2012 when Roy Hodgson’s men were based in Poland, reports the Mirror. During the trip, Rooney is said to have “asked the most perceptive questions” of the group’s tour guide.

And when Winter asked how Rooney was so knowledgeable about World War II, the former striker-turned-manager revealed he was “obsessed” with ‘The World at War’. “On the bus back to Krakow, I asked Rooney how he knew so much about the second world war,” Winter wrote in The Spectator.

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“He said he was obsessed with The World at War series narrated by Laurence Olivier. I’m biased, but there’s invariably more hinterland to footballers than perceived.”

The documentary is a 26-part series narrated by legendary actor Laurence Olivier which details the events of the conflict. Winter continued: “I’ve been to Auschwitz and Auschwitz II-Birkenau five times, each visit as grim as the last.

“Nothing prepares you for the evil inside. It’s vital to go, to learn, to pay your respects, to never forget. It was important when Wayne Rooney and some of the England players left their Euro 2012 base in nearby Krakow to visit. Footballers should step out of their bubble.

“Rooney asked the most perceptive questions of our guide, including how could the camp director step outside the gates and lead a normal family life having inflicted such horrors (a theme recently depicted in The Zone of Interest)?

The former Birmingham City boss was moved to tears after visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps in Poland.

Rooney said of the visit: “It’s hard to understand, so tough. When you see the amount of children’s clothes and shoes, it’s such a sad experience. You have to see it first-hand to understand, and of course it puts football into perspective.

“It will never be forgotten. We know that kids nowadays are interested in footballers, and if a few more people understand what happened because we came here today then that has to be good.”