Wayne Rooney recently claimed that Frank Lampard was one England player who would be given foot massages that put him to sleep while away with the squad, but the Chelsea legend denied it was him
Euro Thrash | Rod Thornley tells all about John Terry’s feet
Former Manchester United masseuse Rod Thornley has revealed the untold side of Wayne Rooney’s viral massage story that was claimed to have involved Frank Lampard.
Rooney had previously alleged how Frank Lampard and John Terry received foot massages from Chelsea’s club masseur Billy McCulloch while on duty with England – even hinting that they were tucked into bed post-rubdown.
Lampard hit back at Rooney’s claims this week, saying that he had a “selective memory” regarding the masseuse saga and jokingly threatened to “have a word with him” during a radio show appearance, reports Football London.
Thornley, who also served as a masseuse for both United and England, spoke on the Euro Thrash podcast, available on YouTube, Apple and Spotify, to clarify the foot massage tale once and for all.
On the podcast, Thornley recounted: “In 2006, before we went off to the World Cup, there was a little bit of a thing about needing an extra masseur, an extra pair of hands, and it was more the Chelsea lads trying to get their man in from Chelsea, a guy called Billy.
“He came in for that World Cup, and I can’t tell you Lamps definitely did it, but John Terry would always have his feet massaged, he definitely went back to John’s room and massaged him. And Wayne Bridge would have it done as well, because they were close as well not John Terry and Wayne Bridge, the other way, the masseur with them two.”
Thornley added: “He would literally go back to their rooms and send them to sleep by massaging their feet. It was nothing that we as a medical team agreed should be happening, but apparently it just did.”
Reflecting on Lampard and Rooney’s memories of the foot rub story, Thornley pointed out that the England players never stayed together, saying: “They never shared rooms. Everyone had their own room, even myself.”
When questioned whether Lampard might have been unnecessarily included in the massage anecdote, Thornley replied: “Yeah, it sounds that way.”
Watch and listen to Euro Thrash on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify with regular new episodes throughout Euro 2024
