Wayne costs the bookies £1m
Manchester United fans punched the air, England fans cheered and his mother leapt up and down. But when Wayne Rooney slammed in his hat-trick goal in his debut for his new club the bookies wept.
The 18-year-old had been put at 20-1 to score three goals in his first game following his £27 million transfer from Everton this summer and the free kick that brought the landmark is estimated to have cost the betting industry £1 million.
Bookmaker Coral took several thousand bets on Rooney to score three times against Turkish side Fenerbache at that price and admit his success made last night its worst Champions League result. Coral spokesman Simon Clare said: "When Rooney's third goal went in we turned off all the lights in head office to save the electricity.
"Punters will be turning up to Coral betting shops with wheelbarrows to collect their Rooney winnings."
It was a fitting comeback in front of 67,000 fans at Old Trafford after being sidelined with a broken foot following his heroics for England in Euro 2004 and battered by stories about his private life.
After the 6-2 win, Coral slashed the odds on Rooney being voted European Player of the Year from 50-1 to 12-1. It also marked him down from 40-1 to 10-1 to be the top Champions League goalscorer this season with Ladbrokes taking him from 50-1 to 4-1.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson described Rooney as " magnificent" and added: "We want to develop him, mature him. He's just a young boy."
