Wayne Rooney has paid tribute to Ricky Hatton, the former world champion boxer who has died at the age of 46. According to 90min, Rooney described himself as devastated by the loss of a man he counted as a close friend.
Hatton, who was born in Stockport and built much of his following from the north-west of England, was one of British boxing's most celebrated figures of his generation. His connection to Manchester ran deep, and it was a bond he shared with Rooney, whose own footballing career was rooted in that part of the country.
The two men moved in overlapping worlds for many years. Rooney rose to prominence at Everton before becoming one of the defining players of his era at Manchester United and for England; Hatton, meanwhile, became a world champion at light-welterweight and welterweight, building a reputation not only for his record in the ring but for the extraordinary loyalty he inspired among his supporters. That their friendship endured beyond the peak years of both careers speaks to something more than proximity.
Rooney is among the first prominent figures from football to respond publicly to the news of Hatton's death. The tribute, as reported by 90min, is brief but direct in its feeling — the word 'devastated' carrying the weight of a genuine personal loss rather than the kind of formal condolence that public life sometimes produces.
Hatton was 46. No further details about the circumstances of his death were available in the wire at the time this piece was prepared. Further tributes are expected from the worlds of boxing and sport more broadly in the hours and days ahead.