Wayne Rooney was a handy boxer in his youth before getting knocked out by a Manchester United team-mate

Wayne Rooney has called out Jamie Carragher for a boxing match in a potential renewal of their Manchester United-Liverpool rivalry. Rooney, who boxed as a youngster on Merseyside, issued the challenge to Carragher while visiting Croxteth Amateur Boxing Club, which was established by his uncle, Richie Rooney.

He was there to back local fighters Jack Turner and Oliver Jones, who are signed to Frank Warren's Queensberry stable. During the visit, which was filmed by Queensberry, he looked directly at the camera to declare: "I'd f***ing love to get Carragher in the ring, so you can tell him. Carra, I would love to get you in the ring."

Most observers would back Rooney, 41, who is seven years younger than Carragher, given his boxing pedigree. He continued fighting until the age of 15, when Everton ordered him to hang up the gloves.

At 16, he was playing for the senior side, bursting onto the scene with 'that' goal against champions Arsenal in 2002 before joining United two years later. Rooney attributes his Premier League breakthrough at such a young age to boxing.

He told Queensberry: "I love boxing, love watching boxing. But I wasn't good enough to go down that route. It's where I'm from.

"I always think being able to play for Everton at 16, boxing was a big part of that. It helped my legs grow, my bum grow. You need that for your power."

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Rooney's more recent encounters with the gloves are rather questionable, having been knocked out by former United team-mate Phil Bardsley during an impromptu sparring session at his Cheshire mansion in 2015.

After footage of the incident surfaced on social media, Rooney celebrated his next goal by mimicking being knocked out. The former Derby and Birmingham manager has been linked with the Misfits Boxing promotion.

Last year, he was challenged to a bout by former Premier League goalkeeper Paddy Kenny, though the match-up never came to fruition. Rooney's boxing ambitions will be put on the back burner for now, as he is reportedly set to feature in the forthcoming series of I'm A Celebrity after agreeing a six-figure fee, according to The Sun.

Meanwhile, Carragher has avoided a battle of a different sort after Aston Villa withdrew their threat of legal action against him. Villa had threatened to pursue the former England defender through the courts after he made "unacceptable insults" on the Stick To Football podcast last week.

Carragher told Villa fans to "shut the f*** up" after facing criticism for suggesting Unai Emery should consider taking the United job if Michael Carrick is sacked. The Sky Sports pundit subsequently apologised on social media, admitting he used "clumsy and wrong" language.