A-Rod denies owning paintings of himself as a centaur

Despite what an ex-partner might have said a decade ago, Alex Rodriguez insists he never owned portraits of himself as a centaur.

"One-hundred percent not true," A-Rod said in a recent interview with David Marchese of the New York Times. "I wish it was true because it's such a cool story."

The rumor first surfaced in 2009 when a former lover called Rodriguez an egomaniac.

"He was so vain," the anonymous woman told Us Weekly. "He had not one, but two painted portraits of himself as a centaur. You know, the half-man, half-horse figure ... It was ridiculous."

A-Rod's interview also included reflecting on the controversial mirror-kissing image from a 2009 profile piece in Details magazine.

"I cringe at that," Rodriguez said. "We were ending the photo shoot, and I wanted to run out of there. I think Steven Klein was the photographer, and he was like, 'Let's just shoot one more.' And I'm like, 'What? I just want to eat a burger. Let me get out of here.'"

He added: "Yeah, I just kissed the mirror, not even thinking. But I did a lot of things like that."

Rodriguez, a former MLB player who was a three-time MVP, retired following the 2016 season. He currently works as a baseball analyst and recently got engaged to singer Jennifer Lopez.