England WAGs' Lavish Spending and Drinking Revealed on Eve of 2006 World Cup

A recently discovered receipt has shed new light on the extravagant night out enjoyed by the wives and girlfriends of the England football squad, known as the 'WAGs,' on the eve of the 2006 World Cup. The bill, totaling €643.50 (equivalent to approximately €1,000 today), was incurred at Garibaldi's bar in Baden-Baden, Germany, on June 9, 2006, just hours before England was set to face Paraguay in their opening match.

Coleen Rooney (then McLoughlin), Alex Gerrard, and David Beckham's sister, Joanne, are believed to have accumulated the significant tab. The receipt shows purchases of seven bottles of Moët & Chandon champagne, alongside nine vodka Red Bulls, six pilsners, and 12 assorted shots of spirits, including Bacardi, sambuca, and tequila, which alone cost €72.

This revelry was just the beginning of what became a defining element of England's 2006 World Cup campaign. The WAGs' activities in Baden-Baden dominated media coverage throughout the tournament, often overshadowing the team's performance. Daily Mail Sport obtained the receipt from a former waitress who kept it for two decades. "I can't believe I've kept it all these years," she told Daily Mail Sport. "My daughter thinks it's hilarious that I still have it."

Baden-Baden became the epicenter for the WAGs, a hub of activity that contrasted sharply with the players' focus on the tournament. The "WAG phenomenon" arguably reached its zenith during this World Cup, with headlines frequently focusing on the WAGs' nights out and substantial shopping sprees rather than the team's progress. German tabloids reported that one shopping spree alone shortly after the team's arrival totaled approximately €80,000.

Former England player Frank Lampard reflected in 2024 that the situation could have been handled better, stating, "The media just lapped it up, didn't they? And it took away from a group that was trying to prepare to try and win a tournament." Rio Ferdinand, a teammate at the time, described the squad's environment as a "circus" due to the WAG situation, suggesting that "football almost became a secondary element to the main event."

The 2006 England squad, often referred to as the "Golden Generation," ultimately crashed out of the World Cup in the quarter-finals, losing to Portugal on penalties. The "WAG culture" that defined that tournament has since evolved, with contemporary England squads seeing less intense media focus on their partners' off-field activities. The contrast was evident in the recent World Cup, where the partners were primarily seen supporting the team from the stands.