At just 20 years of age, Wayne Rooney is already one of the best footballers in the world.

From his early years in Croxteth, his Premiership debut as a 16-year-old, his ebullient entrance on the international scene in Euro 2004, to the drama of the 2006 World Cup, this is his amazing story so far. What is the true story behind the most talked-about person in British football? Were there signs of things to come in his upbringing in the backstreets of Liverpool? What were the early influences that shaped his character? And how has the meteoric rise to fame and fortune affected this seemingly shy yet prodigiously gifted youngster?

For the first time in his own words, Rooney opens up in his bestselling autobiography about the defining years of his life as the son of a working-class family, brought up in a council house with his Everton-mad family. There followed his first tentative steps in football, the triumphs and knockbacks along the way, the accolades that began to follow his every move as a young teenager, and destiny fulfilled on his Premiership debut for Everton at the tender age of 16.

He goes on to describe how his life changed irrevocably when Alex Ferguson and Manchester United came calling in the summer of 2004, his dazzling efforts for England in the European Championships, a private life never far from the tabloid headlines, and the real story behind his relationship with partner Coleen McLoughlin.

He reveals the anguish of the foot injury that threatened his participation in World Cup 2006, and how his determination led to a remarkable recovery in time to play a part in the group stage of the tournament. And he describes how his delight at playing again for his country turned to despair after his controversial sending-off in the quarter-final against Portugal and England’s subsequent elimination in the penalty shoot-out.

The story so far. In Rooney's own words. From the streets of Croxteth to the stadiums of Germany – a journey of a lifetime squeezed into a mere twenty years.