The forward was accused of withholding commission on multi-million pound deals brokered by sports management firm Proactive, who used to represent him. Rooney made no payments after football agent Paul Stretford, a director and founder of Proactive, left the firm in acrimony in October 2008, taking with him their star client. Rooney, 24, who is currently on holiday in Barbados, was signed by Stretford for Proactive in 2002 as the teenage prodigy became the hottest property in football. Rooney, then 17, went from £80-a-week Everton trainee living in his parent's council house in Croxteth, Liverpool, to household name soccer star with multi-million sponsorship deals with the likes of Nike and Coca-Cola. Proactive had argued that, as such contracts for Rooney and his wife Coleen were brokered by Stretford while he was still at the firm, they were still due the 20% commission - amounting to £4.3 million. On Thursday, Judge Brendan Hegarty QC, who postponed his ruling at Manchester Mercantile Court until after the World Cup, handed down his judgment. The judge said the original contract Rooney signed with Proactive amounted to a "restraint of trade" as it was up to eight years long when the Football Association recommended a maximum of two years. Judge Hegarty ruled that Proactive was only entitled to a "restitutional remedy" from the Rooney's amounting to around £90,000. He rejected an application to appeal from the firm's lawyers. Ian Mill QC, representing Proactive, told the court they would consider taking the matter to the Court of Appeal. In a statement released after the ruling, Manchester United and England star Rooney said: "I am delighted to have won this case." He added: "Coleen and I have always been happy to pay all commissions due to the people who were owed them. "But these sums were a joke and we felt they were just an attempt to exploit us. "Fortunately the judge has knocked back their massively over-inflated claims and we are happy to pay the very small sum awarded. "Going to court was the last thing I wanted to do. "I was shocked that a company which represents some of Britain's biggest entertainers was going down this road which meant that private financial and commercial matters were made public. "But you always have to fight for what's right in life and that's why we contested it." Rooney's statement thanked his legal team and witnesses who appeared on his behalf, including Manchester United chief executive David Gill and Gordon Taylor from the Professional Footballers' Association. He added: "Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank my Mum and Dad for their help, support and values they have given me." Stretford, now managing director of Triple S Sports and Entertainment Group, also welcomed the ruling. "Wayne's legal team has said that the victory is so overwhelming that costs will now be claimed from Proactive. "We were always surprised that a company which represents some of Britain's major entertainment stars, should want to see private matters like this aired in court. "I would like to thank Wayne and Coleen for showing such strength of conviction and resilience under a great deal of pressure, and for believing in what they felt was right." Stretford was in court but there were no members of the Rooney family present. The agent, flanked by his legal team, nodded and smiled to his lawyers as the judgment was delivered.
