England legend admitted he changed to longer studs to 'hurt' his international teammate in must-win game

A former England star once admitted that he intended to hurt his Three Lions teammate and wore ‘extra-long’ studs during a Premier League match.

These days, the England squad are a tight-knit bunch and are seemingly able to put their club bias aside while away on international duty.

Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka are often spotted sharing jokes with players such as Curtis Jones and Reece James, who play for Liverpool and Chelsea, the Gunners’ rivals.

But this was not the case during the early to mid-2000s for the so-called ‘Golden Generation’.

Former England stars Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard discussed the matter on BT Sport back in 2017.

Ferdinand said: “It was down to, from my perspective, the obsession with winning. I didn't want to see Frank have an edge on me.

England at the 2010 World Cup (Credit:Getty)

“It was the same with Stevie and England, when we were battling them (Liverpool) for the Premier League, I didn't want to sit around and have a beer with him because I didn't want to hear what Liverpool were doing... I think that's what held us back.”

Gerrard agreed, saying: “I think it was more of a respectful relationship around England rather than a closeness where there was love there.

“[Philippe] Coutinho can't wait to go away with Brazil, it's the best 10 days of their season. But you didn't get that feeling with England.”

However, another England star went a step further and even admitted that he intended to hurt an opponent during a Premier League game.

That man was Wayne Rooney, who changed his studs to the “maximum length” ahead of Man United’s Premier League match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 2006, which the Blues won 3-0.

Wayne Rooney's tackle on John Terry (Credit:Getty)

"I wanted to try and hurt someone, try and injure someone,” Rooney said in a Prime documentary in 2022.

"The studs were legal, but bigger than what I'd normally wear."

He added: "John Terry left the stadium on crutches. I left a hole in his foot, and then I signed my shirt to him after the game... and a few weeks later, I sent it to him and asked for my stud back."