Everton forward Wayne Rooney has been banned from driving for two years.
Rooney appeared at Stockport Magistrates’ Court on Monday, where he pleaded guilty after being stopped by police in the early hours of September 1.
A breathalyser showed that the 31-year-old was almost three times above the legal limit while driving a black VW Beetle close to his Cheshire home at the time.
The car belonged to a woman that Rooney had met in Alderley Edge that evening and was stopped due to one of its tail lights not working.
Representatives for the player told the court that he expected to be fined two weeks’ wages, believed to be £300,000, by Everton for the offence.
Judge John Temperley told Rooney: “I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you this was a serious offence.
“You were driving a motor vehicle almost three times the legal limit and you were carrying a female passenger, which was an aggravating feature and you put other road users at risk.”
The former England captain’s suspension will be reduced by 24 weeks if he is able to complete a specialist driving course by February 2019.
He was also sentenced to a 12-month community order and 100 hours of unpaid work.
“I want publicly to apologise for my unforgivable lack of judgement in driving while over the legal limit. It was completely wrong,” said Rooney in a statement.
I have already said sorry to my family, my manager and chairman and everyone at Everton FC.
“Now I want to apologise to all the fans and everyone else who has followed and supported me throughout my career.
“Of course I accept the sentence of the court and hope that I can make some amends through my community service.”