( CNN ) -- Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney has claimed a heated exchange with a fan on social networking site Twitter in which he said `` I 'll put u asleep within 10 seconds '' was light-hearted banter . Rooney replied to a Twitter user called sam_oldham_LFC , believed to be a Liverpool fan , on Wednesday night after receiving several abusive messages . The 25-year-old , who has over 580,000 followers on Twitter , said `` you know where I train every day kid come and do it good luck '' after his abuser had threatened to attack him . Rooney then tweeted : `` I 'll put u asleep within 10 seconds u little girl . Do n't say stuff and not follow up on it . I 'll be waiting . '' He later tried to diffuse the situation , posting : `` Ha ha bit of banter and people go nuts chill all people . '' The sam_oldham_LFC account has since been deleted , while Rooney 's spokesman later released a statement to the media claiming the striker 's messages were no more than a joke . He was quoted by the UK Press Association as saying : `` As is made clear in the tweets , this whole exchange is banter . There is no suggestion , nor is there any intention of a suggestion , of a real fight . '' On Thursday Rooney was back to tweeting about his usual topics of interest -- soccer and American Idol . A host of sports stars are on Twitter and claim it is a positive way to engage with their fans but several have fallen foul of the authorities thanks to the social networking phenomenon . Ex-Liverpool player Ryan Babel was fined $ 16,000 by the English Football Association after he posted a picture of referee Howard Webb in a Manchester United shirt following a controversial game between the two clubs . West Ham striker Carlton Cole was recently charged with improper conduct for remarks he made on Twitter during England 's 1-1 draw with Ghana at Wembley in March . NBA star LeBron James also caused a stir when he retweeted abusive messages he received -- one of them racially charged . He followed it by posting a message himself that said : `` U see world how people feel ! Just use it as extra motivation in whatever u do best ! No one can stop your dreams from becoming reality ! ''
Wayne Rooney conducts row with abusive fan on social networking site Twitter . Man Utd striker reacts to threat by saying `` I 'll put u asleep within 10 seconds u little girl '' By. James Rush for MailOnline.