Surprise: Rooney admits: I am of Jewish origin

The English star asks: why are we not Jews?

Wayne Rooney, the Manchester United and England national team legend, has revealed that he is of Jewish origin, despite being raised as a Roman Catholic.

The former England captain traced his roots to Polish immigrants through his maternal grandmother's family, Pat Morrey.

Rooney told the story during a visit to the Auschwitz camp in Poland, joined by his wife Coleen and their two youngest sons, Kit, 10, and Cass, 8.

Speaking to "Disney+" about the ten-episode series The Real Rooneys, he said: "I recently discovered that my maternal grandmother, her family were Polish Jews."

He added, as reported by the English newspaper "The Sun": "I'm Catholic, but I always asked questions like: 'Why aren't we Jewish?'"

Because the lineage runs on the maternal side, the newspaper noted, that makes Rooney officially Jewish.

The 40-year-old former Manchester United striker even swapped jokes with those around him about a spin-off series. Laughing, he suggested it be called: "Jew Roo".