Wayne Rooney has apologised to his family and Derby County over images that surfaced online of him at a private party.

Pictures appearing to show the Derby County manager asleep in a hotel room surrounded by a group of young women garnered attention on social media over the weekend.

Cheshire Police confirmed on Tuesday they would not be taking action against a complaint of blackmail made regarding the images, after Rooney’s representatives believed there had been an illicit attempt to entrap him.

The 35-year-old apologised to his family over the images on Wednesday evening.

“I made a mistake,” he told Sky Sports News after his side’s friendly victory against Real Betis.

Rooney added: “I went to a private party with two of my friends and from me, I’d like to apologise to my family and the club for the images which were going round and I want to move forward on this.

“I’m grateful to Derby County for giving me this opportunity to get this club back to where it belongs, and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure I do that.

“It’s dealt with. I’m looking forward to moving forward and preparing for another game on Sunday.”

The images went viral on social media on Sunday, but there was no suggestion the former Manchester United and England player acted inappropriately or was even he was aware of what was going on around him.

Cheshire Police said in a statement: “On Monday 26 July Cheshire Constabulary received reports of a possible blackmail relating to a number of images circulating online.

“Officers have spoken to the person involved and are satisfied that no offences have taken place. The person involved has also stated that they do not wish to take the matter any further.”

Rooney is starting his first full season in charge at Derby, having narrowly kept them in the Championship last season after taking over from Phillip Cocu.

But he has warned he will be unable to field a team unless the club makes significant signings.

Derby currently has only nine registered senior players, two of whom are goalkeepers.

One of those players Jason Knight was injured after a 50-50 tackle in training with Rooney. He has been ruled out for three months.

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