Jamie Carragher has revealed the five-word message he gave Wayne Rooney ahead of the former Everton striker's appearance on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, predicting he will do "brilliant" in the jungle.
The Bootle-born football star and pundit spoke to the ECHO on the red carpet at the 2026 Football For Change gala at the M&S Bank Arena on Saturday, November 14. Carragher co-founded Football For Change in 2021 alongside Conor Coady and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Special night in Liverpool
The foundation hosted its annual gala in Liverpool on Saturday night, with some of the biggest names in football, music and entertainment uniting to raise money and awareness dedicated to creating brighter futures for young people across the UK. Guests arriving on the red carpet included Steven Gerrard, Coleen Rooney, Paddy McGuinness, Carol Vorderman and Toni Duggan.
Carragher told the ECHO he is "determined" to keep the majority of funds raised in the city he calls home. Growing up in Bootle, the 48-year-old is proud of his Merseyside roots.
Keeping funds in the city
Speaking about hosting the night in Liverpool, which returned to the city for the first time since 2024, Carragher said: "It's very special, I'm very passionate about the city as well as the football clubs. I think whenever I've been involved in charity nights like this, I've always been very determined that the majority of the funds stay in the city. It's a simple mantra, I think we should all listen to and it's 'abide by your own'."
He added: "It's a big event in Liverpool tonight and the majority of the people are from the city so I'm sure they will love it." On the star-studded attendance, Carragher said: "It's nice that there's so many big names come down. It's because it's a great night, they go to lots of charity events but tonight isn't just about raising money. That's the most important thing of course but the other thing that's a close second for me is people having a good night, and we love to have a good time in Liverpool. We like to have a ball."
Rooney's jungle prospects
Carragher also shared his verdict on Wayne Rooney heading into the I'm A Celebrity jungle this week. He said: "I think he'll do brilliant." He gave Rooney words of advice last week, telling him to "get used to the trials".
He said: "I saw him about a week ago, and I told him he better get used to doing the trials. Everyone's going to vote for him aren't they, everyone will want to see Wayne Rooney do those trials." He added: "Hopefully he'll do as well as Coleen, and maybe go one better, who knows."
Rooney is part of the 2026 line-up for the ITV reality show, hoping to follow in his wife Coleen's footsteps, who took part in the programme in 2024. The mum-of-four finished in second place behind McFly's Danny Jones, who was crowned King of the Jungle. I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here returns on Monday night at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with 11 celebrities heading into the jungle, including Claire Sweeney, Chloe Burrows, AJ Odudu, Joanna Page and Ade Adepitan.
