Georgina ElliottJul 9, 2026 – 12.00pm“Nothing like this will happen again,” said the head barman of Garibaldi, an Italian restaurant in the sleepy German town of Baden-Baden, crying on a journalist’s shoulder. It was the 2006 World Cup, England had just lost to Portugal on penalties, and the WAGs who came, shopped and conquered, were now leaving.Peak WAG lasted only a few weeks: Wayne Rooney’s partner, Coleen McLoughlin, brought a spray-tan technician and spent £57,000 in an hour; Victoria Beckham packed 60 pairs of sunglasses and complained about being treated worse than a dog when her flight was delayed; Abbey Clancy (model and then-girlfriend-now-wife of Peter Crouch) was sent home early after photographs of her taking cocaine leaked. They drank vodka Red Bull, pink champagne and pear Bellinis, and Elen Rivas (the Spanish model and animal rights activist then dating Frank Lampard) climbed onto a table to belt out Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive.New StatesmanSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles