The 24-year-old insisted controversial Paul Stretford - who was convicted of misconduct charges and banned as an agent - was the man he wanted to lead negotiations with Manchester United over a new contract. Rooney appeared at Manchester Mercantile Court where he and wife Coleen and two of their companies are being sued by Stretford's former company Proactive. The dispute over contracts came about when Stretford left the company in October 2008. The young football prodigy was signed by Stretford in 2002 when he was just 17 playing for his home-town club Everton. Stretford, a founder and director of Proactive, brokered multimillion-pound deals with firms including Nike and Coca-Cola for Rooney. He also took Rooney's wife under his wing when her celebrity status exploded as the striker established himself as an England regular following his £20million transfer to Manchester United in 2004. Stretford struck deals with the couple to pay the company 20% commission. But trouble began in October 2008 when Stretford left the firm in acrimony - with no further commission payments made. Last year, Stretford set up another company which Rooney agreed verbally to carry the contracts over to. Proactive claims the contract Stretford signed with the Rooneys while at the firm means it is entitled to further payments amounting to £4.3million. But on Friday, Rooney appeared extremely loyal to Stretford, siding with him when he lost his job and was banned by the FA from acting as an agent. Probed by Ian Mill QC, for Proactive, whether he believed Stretford had been treated badly, the player sprang to his defence. Mr Mill asked the player to recall that his agent had been investigated by the FA in 2008 and things "did not go well" for Stretford as he was found guilty of a number of misconduct charges. The lawyer reminded Rooney his agent appealed against the decision by the FA - but his appeal was rejected. "And doubtless he still maintained his innocence?" Mr Mill asked. "Of course," Rooney replied. "Of course because you trusted him implicitly?" Mr Mill said. "Yes," replied the footballer. Mr Mill told Rooney that at around the same time the FA investigated Mr Stretford, his employers Proactive terminated his contract. "Doubtless he said he felt he had been treated very badly?" Mr Mill said. "He told you his side of the story and you accepted it?" "Yes," Rooney again replied. "After he left Proactive, you continued to believe and put your trust in Mr Stretford?" Mr Mill asked. "Yes," the witness said. Mr Mill continued: "You felt he had negotiated very good contracts for you with both Everton and Manchester United and first class sponsors. "He had helped make you a very wealthy young man and you were extremely grateful to him." Rooney agreed he felt Mr Stretford should get the £4.3million in commission payments, not Proactive, and that the firm had treated his agent badly. "What if the court was to find Mr Stretford had not been telling you the truth?" Mr Mill said. He asked Rooney to "suppose" that the court was to find the FA was justified in banning Mr Stretford and right to dismiss his appeal, and that Proactive was fully justified in dismissing him from his job. "If that was the case, would that in any way be likely to affect your attitude to whether or not Mr Stretford should get commission from you?" he asked. "Er, has that actually happened?" Rooney replied. "I didn't think Proactive could provide the services. "Nobody from Proactive called me to say 'we can provide the services for you'." That was because Rooney's lawyers had told Proactive not to contact him, said Mr Mill. Rooney replied: "Before Mr Stretford was basically sacked from the company, nobody explained he was going to be sacked and that they could still do things for me." The court heard that as well as squaring sponsorship deals with global brands for the Croxteth-born player, Stretford provided "round the clock assistance". "My football career and football stuff has to come first," Rooney said. "Then obviously when I have got days when I have got my commercial stuff they make sure everything is done right and set up properly and day-to-day life with my wife and child, stuff that's in the newspapers, they deal with all that." The court heard that Rooney's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, extends his famous attention to detail over "all aspects" of players' lives and had specified Rooney could have no more than five sponsorship deals. Mr Mill asked him: "You're allowed five sponsorship deals. What's that based on?" "It is based on what my manager tells me," replied Rooney, whose wife Coleen will not be giving evidence. Rooney, dressed in a navy blue suit and thin black tie, said he was "at the max" with what his sponsorship deals demand of him. That said, he acknowledged there were opportunities stemming from this summer's World Cup in South Africa which Stretford could help him with. Mr Mill said: "Would you agree the World Cup holds immense potential for you in terms of your brand value and commercial value?" "Yeah," replied Rooney. The court adjourned to Monday.
